Widespread demonstrations are planned in Los Angeles and other major cities across the United States this Saturday, as activists rally against the aggressive immigration enforcement policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.
As the federal government extends its crackdown on immigration enforcement beyond Southern California, many citizens are preparing to voice their opposition.
In Washington, the Army is set to mark its 250th anniversary alongside President Trump’s 79th birthday with a highly publicized military parade.
In response to these events, citizens across the nation will gather for the “No Kings” demonstrations, expressing their discontent with the administration’s policies.
In Los Angeles, the landscape has changed significantly due to federal immigration raids, leading many undocumented immigrants to avoid public places and go into hiding.
At least a dozen different activist groups have organized protests, following eight consecutive days of demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles, where thousands have condemned federal operations targeting unauthorized immigrants.
Participating organizations include Indivisible, the ACLU, and 50501, which also coordinated the “Hands Off!” protests in April against various policies of the Trump administration related to Social Security, healthcare, and education.
While the primary “No Kings” protests will primarily be held in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, and Charlotte, additional demonstrations will occur in other urban areas as well.
In the days leading up to the protests, Los Angeles has witnessed an influx of National Guard and Marine troops, despite opposition from state and local officials who argue that their presence is unnecessary and may heighten tensions.
On Friday, Marines were observed taking positions around the Wilshire Federal Building in Westwood as part of the federal response.
According to Army Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, about 200 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles and they have completed training for civil disturbances. However, he assured that they would not be involved in law enforcement activities.
Sherman confirmed that the Marines are strictly there to protect federal facilities and staff.
This deployment is part of a larger contingent of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines mobilized by President Trump in response to public outrage over immigration enforcement raids that have led to numerous arrests.
Local law enforcement, including the police and California Highway Patrol, have been managing crowd control during the protests, with recent strategies showing better containment of unrest thanks to a newly imposed curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in downtown Los Angeles.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell emphasized the department’s commitment to protecting individuals’ rights to protest peacefully while also maintaining public safety.
“Let me be absolutely clear on this: If you come to Los Angeles to exercise your rights peacefully, we are here to protect that,” he expressed, adding a warning to those intending to commit crimes.
Earlier in the week, McDonnell noted a lack of effective communication between local police and military personnel regarding their coordinated response.
“This is, to me, an unprecedented event where you have military personnel deployed into a city without coordination and requests from local authorities,” he stated.
Robert Luna, L.A. County Sheriff, acknowledged the challenges posed by multiple simultaneous protests, revealing his knowledge of at least 30 scheduled events occurring alongside a major soccer match featuring Mexico.
In a significant legal development, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals intervened on Thursday to pause a ruling that mandated President Trump to relinquish control of California National Guard troops back to Governor Gavin Newsom.
This decision comes on the heels of a prior ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, which had determined that Trump’s mobilization of National Guard troops during the immigration raids was unlawful and required a restoration of state control by Friday.
During the unfolding protests, supporters of military involvement emerged, including Gregg Donovan, who was seen dressed in a red suit and top hat, holding a sign in favor of the Marines.
Donovan expressed his belief that the presence of federal troops was necessary to manage violence, citing his observations of police struggling to handle protesters previously.
Conversely, many protesters voiced significant dissent regarding the militarization of local law enforcement.
Priscilla Ramos, who took a day off work to partake in the demonstration, criticized the deployment of Marines and National Guard.
She emphasized that an increase in policing leads to heightened anxiety and violence within communities, arguing that it only exacerbates fears among residents.
The atmosphere in MacArthur Park, which serves as a long-standing hub for immigrants west of downtown LA, displayed noticeable changes in recent days.
Many vendors, typically found along South Alvarado Street selling various goods, were absent, with local community member Cristina Serrano noting an overall sense of fear prevalent among residents.
Serrano shared that due to the heightened fear from the ICE raids, she has taken the precaution of carrying her birth certificate everywhere.
“I don’t know who they want to stop, who they’re targeting, to be honest, because they’re targeting people that look like me,” she remarked, adding that she has kept a lawyer on speed dial for her community’s safety.
Tensions between the federal immigration enforcement and Californian politicians escalated dramatically when Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference held by the Department of Homeland Security.
Padilla, addressing reporters after his removal, urged citizens to protest the Trump administration’s actions peacefully, emphasizing the anxiety and tension surrounding communities affected by the raids.
The ongoing immigration enforcement activities have targeted various locations, including Home Depots, churches, farms, and retail centers, stoking concern that the operations are not just forcing immigrants into hiding but are also detrimental to the local economy.
In Los Angeles, the enforcement measures have reportedly coincided with a surge in successful crowd management by law enforcement, attributed partly to the newly established curfew in the downtown area, designed to ensure public order.
This curfew affects central zones, including the Civic Center, City Hall, the main county criminal courthouse, LAPD headquarters, and federal buildings, in an effort to balance public safety with the right to protest.
image source from：https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-13/la-protest-weekend-no-kings
