Riot police clash with LA protesters after immigration raids

Violent protests have hit Los Angeles after armed agents carried out immigration raids in forceful displays of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown. See the photos and video,

Violent protests erupted in Los Angeles after masked and armed federal agents carried out sweeping immigration raids in forceful displays of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on people without papers.

In New York City, at least five people were arrested as a mob of nearly 100 protesters tried to block federal authorities apparently conducting immigration raids in Lower Manhattan, according to police and video from the chaotic scene.

Agents used extreme tactics, conducting unprecedented raids on at least three areas of Los Angeles to detain dozens of people.

A protest erupted in Paramount, south of downtown Los Angeles, as the region’s top federal prosecutor said federal law enforcement operations were “proceeding as planned” across the county.

Demonstrators shout and film at police during a protest in the Paramount section of Los Angeles after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. Picture: AP

Border Patrol personnel deploy tear gas during a demonstration over the dozens detained in an operation by federal immigration authorities. Picture: AP

A protester attempts to evade a Department of Homeland Security officer after federal immigration authorities conducted an operation. Picture: AP

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned “rioters” of prosecution if they “lay a hand” on authorities, while FBI Director Kash Patel responded to comments from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass saying the city “will not stand” for the raids.

“We will,” Mr Patel said.

At one sweep near Los Angeles City Hall, agents threw flash-bang grenades to disperse angry crowds of people following alongside a convoy of ICE vehicles, as protesters hurled eggs and epithets at the agents, media reported.

The mob gathered at the city’s Department of Justice office and hurled objects at authorities. Police formed a barricade outside the entrance to the office before firing smoke bombs into the crowd.

A protester throws a rock during riots in Los Angeles. Picture: AP

A protester holds a sign as Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stand guard outside an industrial park in the Paramount section of Los Angeles. Picture: AP

A protester stands in front of Los Angeles Police Department officers attempting to disperse a protest after federal immigration authorities conducted an operation. Picture: AP

California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the raids, calling them “chaotic federal sweeps” that aimed to fill an “arbitrary arrest quota.”

“Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy,” he said.

Los Angeles Police Department officers move to disperse a protest. Picture: AP

“He was arrested for interfering with federal officers and will face arraignment in federal court on Monday.”

“Let me be clear: I don’t care who you are — if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted.”

Law enforcement officers gather as tear gas fills the air during a protest after federal immigration authorities conducted an operation. Picture: AP

A protester pours water over a tear gas canister during a protest after federal immigration authorities conducted an operation. Picture: AP

Los Angeles Police officers gather during a protest after federal immigration authorities conducted an operation. Picture: AP

“Federal law is supreme and federal law will be enforced.” Service Employees International Union leader David Huerta was among those briefly detained in Los Angeles.

“Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals,” Mr Huerta said in a statement after his release.

Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe told the Los Angeles Times that federal agents were executing search warrants related to the harbouring of people illegally in the country.

Department of Homeland Security police officers stand during a protest after federal immigration authorities conducted an operation. Picture: AP

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin decried the city’s response to protesters’ clashes with federal agents – which escalated hours after the raids.

“Assaulting ICE enforcement officers, slashing tyres, defacing buildings. 800 protesters have surrounded and breached the first layer of a federal law enforcement building in LA,” McLaughlin wrote on X. “@LAPD has not responded.”

“This violence against @ICEgov must stop.”

A Department of Homeland Security officer reacts after shooting pepper balls during a protest at the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons. Picture: AP

FOLLOW MORE UPDATES FROM THE US BELOW:

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S HARVARD BAN

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a proclamation by Mr Trump that banned foreign students from entering the US to attend Harvard University.

Trump’s proclamation was the latest attempt by his Republican administration to prevent the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college from enrolling a quarter of its students, who account for much of its research and scholarship.

It’s the second time in a month Harvard’s incoming foreign students have had their plans thrown into jeopardy, only to see a court intervene.

IRAN BLASTS TRUMP FOR TRAVEL BAN

Tehran denounced on Saturday the US travel ban on Iranians and citizens of 11 other mostly Middle Eastern and African countries, saying Washington’s decision was a sign of a “racist mentality”.

US President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday an executive order reviving sweeping restrictions that echo his first-term travel ban, justified on national security grounds following a firebomb attack at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado.

Alireza Hashemi-Raja, the foreign ministry’s director general for the affairs of Iranians abroad, called the measure, which takes effect June 9, “a clear sign of the dominance of a supremacist and racist mentality among American policymakers”.

US President Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn as he departs the White House in Washington, DC, en route to New Jersey for the weekend. Picture: AFP

The decision “indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people”, he added in a statement released by the ministry.

Apart from Iran, the US ban targets nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. A partial ban was imposed on travellers from seven other countries.

Hashemi-Raja said the policy “violates fundamental principles of international law” and deprives “hundreds of millions of people of the right to travel based solely on their nationality or religion”.

The foreign ministry official said that the ban was discriminatory and would “entail international responsibility for the US government”, without elaborating.

TRUMP ‘WON’T BE CALLING’ MUSK

Mr Trump on Friday night said there had been efforts by others to bring the two back together but he was “not really interested in that” and he had no plans to talk to Mr Musk.

“I’m really interested in the country solving problems, including problems in very faraway lands,” he said.

US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk speak in the Oval Office before departing the White House in Washington, DC, on the way to Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on March 14. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump said he would not ask Mr Musk to return the key to the White House he awarded him a week ago, telling reporters “no I don’t take things back”.

Asked about his current feelings toward his former “first buddy”, Mr Trump said he had been busy working on international issues including China, Russia and Iran.

“I’m not thinking about Elon Musk,” he said.

“I just wish him well.

“I hope he does well with Tesla.”

Asked how serious he was about cutting government contracts with Mr Musk, the president said “we’ll take a look at everything … “only if it’s to be fair for him and the country”.