Parts of Los Angeles under curfew as US cities prep for more protests

Several US cities are bracing for a new round of protests over President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration raids, as parts of Los Angeles spent the night under curfew in an effort to quell five days of unrest.

Officials were also preparing for nationwide anti-Trump demonstrations on Saturday, when tanks and armoured vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington, DC, in a military parade marking the US Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with the president's 79th birthday.

The governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, said he will deploy the National Guard on Wednesday ahead of planned protests. Already this week, demonstrations have broken out in Austin, Texas, New York, Atlanta and Chicago, among other cities.

Trump's decision to send National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles has sparked a national debate on the use of military on US soil and pitted the Republican president against California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.

Trump has claimed that the deployment prevented the violence from raging out of control, an assertion Newsom and other local officials said was the opposite of the truth.

Newsom, who is widely expected to mount a presidential run in 2028, sued Trump and the Defense Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump in turn has suggested that Newsom should be arrested.

Hundreds of Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from Trump, who has also called up 4,000 National Guard troops to the city. The Marines and National Guard are assigned to protect government personnel and buildings and do not have arrest authority.

About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 50 km south of Los Angeles on Tuesday, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a US official said.

Police said multiple groups stayed on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and "mass arrests" were initiated.

Protests that sprang up in Los Angeles have begun to spread across the country.

From Seattle and Austin to Chicago and Washington, DC, marchers have chanted slogans, carried signs against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and snarled traffic through downtown avenues and outside federal offices.

While many have been peaceful, some have resulted in clashes with law enforcement as officers made arrests and used chemical irritants to disperse crowds.

A look at some protests across the country:

Philadelphia

About 150 protesters gathered outside the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon and marched to ICE headquarters for speeches and then back to the detention center, according to Philadelphia police.

A group then walked though what police called major roads using bicycles to obstruct officers, prompting police to issue several orders for people to disperse. Police said demonstrators ignored the orders and things escalated when officers started arresting people.

San Francisco

About 200 protesters gathered outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Tuesday after activists said several arrests were made there.

Seattle

About 50 people gathered outside the immigration court in downtown Seattle on Tuesday, chanting with drums and holding up signs that said, "Free Them All; Abolish ICE" and "No to Deportations." Protesters began putting scooters in front of building entryways before police arrived.

New York City

A mass of people rallied in lower Manhattan on Tuesday evening to protest deportations and federal immigration policy.

Demonstrators gathered outside two federal buildings that house immigration courts and began marching amid a heavy police presence.

Some protesters held signs reading "ICE out of New York" and others chanted, "Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see no riot here." New York City police said multiple people were taken into custody. There were no immediate charges.

Chicago

In Chicago, a small crowd gathered on Tuesday outside immigration court in downtown and called for an end to Trump administration immigration sweeps and military presence in California.

"With the militarisation of Los Angeles it's time to get out and let Trump know this is unacceptable," said retiree Gary Snyderman. "All of this is so unconstitutional."

The group then marched through downtown streets drumming and chanting, "No more deportations! and “Trump must go now." The demonstration had grown to at least a thousand protesters by late on Tuesday, remaining relatively peaceful with limited engagement between the group and police officers.

Denver

A group of protesters gathered in front of the Colorado state capitol in Denver on Tuesday, creating a sea of cardboard signs, one exhorting: "Show your faces. ICE cowards."

The group, inspired by the Los Angeles protests over the past several days, split in half, marching down two different thoroughfares and crowding out traffic.

A large police presence wasn't seen initially, but a few officers began blocking a street behind the the marchers.

Santa Ana

In Santa Ana near Los Angeles, armoured vehicles blocked the road on Tuesday morning leading into the Civic Center, where federal immigration officers and numerous city and county agencies have their offices.

Workers swept up plastic bottles and broken glass from Monday's protests. Tiny shards of red, black and purple glass littered the pavement. Nearby buildings and the sidewalk were tagged with profane graffiti slogans against ICE and had Trump’s name crossed out. A worker rolled paint over graffiti on a wall to block it out.

National Guard officers wearing fatigues and carrying rifles prevented people from entering the area unless they worked there.

San Antonio

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus confirmed that Texas Governor Greg Abbot sent members of the state's National Guard to the city in advance of protests expected this week, Assistant Chief Jesse Salame told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"We don’t have any additional details about their deployment,"Salame said.

Soldiers were "on standby in areas where mass demonstrations are planned in case they are needed," Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said on Tuesday evening.

Austin

Four Austin police officers were injured and authorities used chemical irritants to disperse a crowd of several hundred demonstrators on Monday night that moved between the state Capitol and a federal building that houses an ICE office.

State officials had closed the Capitol to the public an hour early in anticipation of the protest.

Austin police used pepper spray balls and state police used tear gas when demonstrators began trying to deface the federal building with spray paint. The demonstrators then started throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at a police barricade, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said.

Dallas

A protest that drew hundreds to a rally on a city bridge lasted for several hours on Monday night before Dallas police declared it an "unlawful assembly" and warned people to leave or face possible arrest.

Dallas police initially posted on social media that officers would not interfere with a "lawful and peaceful assembly of individuals or groups expressing their First Amendment rights."

But officers later moved in and media reported seeing some in the crowd throw objects as officers used pepper spray and smoke to clear the area. At least one person was arrested.

Boston

Hundreds of people gathered in Boston’s City Hall Plaza on Monday.

Protesters held signs reading "Massachusetts stands with our neighbours in Los Angeles" and "Protect our immigrant neighbours," and shouted, "Come for one, come for all" and "Free David, free them all."

Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, was released from federal custody later Monday on $50,000 bond.

Washington

Several unions gathered on Monday in Washington to protest the raids and rally for Huerta’s release, and marched past the Department of Justice building.

Among the demonstrators was US Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state.

"Enough of these mass ICE raids that are sweeping up innocent people," Jayapal said. "As we see people exercising the constitutional rights to peacefully use their voices to speak out against this injustice, they are being met with tear gas and rubber bullets."

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Source: TRT