US President Donald Trump has said earlier that protests that stop immigration laws being enforced "constitute a form of rebellion" against the US government.
Under Title 10 of the US Code - the collection of the general and permanent federal laws - presidents can federalise the National Guard - meaning to order the state-based troops to active duty - when there is "a rebellion or danger of a rebellion" against government authority. Trump has used this power to send 2,000 National Guard to Los Angeles.
In a statement from the White House, Trump said National Guard would "temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal actions".
The statement also says they will be deployed for 60 days, with the final decision resting with the US secretary of defence.
As we've reported, National Guard troops have arrived in Los Angeles.
We’re seeing pictures of guardsmen setting up at the Edward R Roybal federal building, which is next to the Metropolitan Detention Centre.
Take a look at the images below to see what's happening.
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Image source, ReutersAmy Walker
Live reporter
Image source, ReutersTrump’s decision to federalise the National Guard, which is normally under state control, is unusual.
The military force’s website says it was brought under federal control using Title 10 of the US Code – the same law Trump used – during the Civil Rights era.
Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson used the National Guard to help enforce civil rights and keep public order.
The Guard was also federalised during the 1967 Detroit riot, in riots after the killing of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968, and during the New York postal strike in 1970.
According to CNN, the last time a president federalised the National Guard was during the 1992 LA riots, external, after four white police officers were acquitted over the videotaped beating of a black motorist.
Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles
Image source, ReutersWe can confirm that California National Guard troops have now arrived in Los Angeles.
The first group got here a few hours ago from San Bernardino county.
They’re currently gathering outside the downtown LA detention centre, where illegal immigrants are taken after being detained.
Stay with us for more updates on their movements.
Image source, Getty ImagesAs the US wakes up to news of clashes between protesters and immigration enforcement, here's a quick recap of what happened overnight on the west coast.
We'll have further updates from the scene as soon as our reporters arrive. Stay with us.
Protests have erupted in Los Angeles after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the area.
ICE is the federal agency that identifies people in the US illegally and carries out arrests and deportations.
Donald Trump returned to power in January, promising mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Since then, arrests have increased.
Data from CBS, the BBC's US partner, shows ICE arrests during Trump's second term have now ed 100,000.
A White House press release said: "In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California."
On Saturday, Trump's "border tsar" Tom Homan, who travelled to LA to supervise the ICE operations, said there would be "zero tolerance" for any violence or damage to private property during the protests.
Image source, Getty Images
A digital content creator at local television station Fox News 11 Los Angeles tells the BBC News channel there’s a “big disconnect” between local and national officials over immigration enforcement.
KJ Hiramoto says immigration enforcement is not seen as a “top tier” priority locally, adding, “immigration is a big, big, big, identity when it comes to Los Angeles”.
Unrest started when federal agents, described as “law enforcement with no local ties”, arrived in the city and were met by demonstrators.
But he says the situation has now “calmed down” as the city moved into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Image source, ReutersOne person has been arrested and several detained following protests in the wider Los Angeles county yesterday, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) tells the BBC.
The department did not confirm what the arrest was for but said that acts of violence witnessed during the unrest in LA since Friday include fireworks being set off and bottles thrown.
They add that two deputies were injured and transported to hospital for non-life threatening injuries and have since been released.
The statement shared with the BBC says that a Hyundai car was burned, while a fire at a local strip mall was quickly extinguished.
Los Angles Police Department, which polices the city of Los Angeles, said earlier "multiple people" who allegedly disobeyed a dispersal order in downtown LA would be arrested following their detainment.
We are yet to hear more from police following last night's protests but we'll bring you the latest developments as we get them. Stay with us.
Image source, ReutersUnrest in LA on Friday and Saturday comes amid Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the county.
ICE is a federal agency, meaning these raids are directed at a national level - not by local officials.
There were clashes as demonstrators gathered in opposition to the raids in parts of LA.
Rachel Uranga, who covers immigration for the Los Angeles Times, told the BBC News channel earlier that the unrest was not widespread across the city and involved "a couple of hundred people in certain locations".
There were clashes in the city of Paramount, where the population is more than 80% Hispanic, and in part of downtown LA nearby to a detention centre.
California Governor Gavin Newsom says the government was conducting "chaotic immigration sweeps" across the country, and accuses it of "sowing chaos" in order to have an "excuse to escalate".
The White House says the operations "are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals", and accuses California Democrat leaders of being "feckless".
Image source, EPAEarlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that active-duty Marines will be mobilised in Los Angeles (LA) "if violence continues".
This comes after he said on X that his department was deploying the National Guard "IMMEDIATELY” - we've now heard that they will arrive in LA within 24 hours.
Protests continued into the early hours of Sunday morning in the city and it remains unclear whether Hegseth will follow through with his threat to deploy Marines.
In a post on X, California Governor Gavin Newsom says Hegseth's threat demonstrates "deranged behaviour".
Image source, Getty ImagesHuerta speaking at a California Democratic Party event in August 2024
More now on the arrest of a US labour union leader David Huerta, who was detained on Friday.
Huerta is the president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) - the group's website says its local unions in the state are made up of more than 750,000 people, including healthcare workers, janitors, social workers, and city and state employees.
The union says Huerta was "peacefully observing" a federal immigration enforcement operation when he was arrested, saying he suffered injuries and calling for his release.
US Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, claims Huerta "deliberately obstructed" federal agents, saying he blocked their vehicle, and saying he faces arraignment in federal court on Monday.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says Trump's order to send the National Guard to LA is "unnecessary, inflammatory, and an abuse of power".
Hina Shamsi, director of the National Security Project at the civil rights group, says Trump's move puts Los Angeles residents "in danger".
She also says it puts troops in "legal and ethical jeopardy", and is "recklessly undermining our foundational democratic principle that the military should not police civilians".
The ACLU says protests in LA were responding to "dangerous" immigration raids and the arrest of David Huerta, the president of labour group Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, at the scene of an immigration enforcement operation on Friday.
Image source, ReutersEach US state has its own contingent of National Guard forces. The state governor is usually in charge of deploying , although it can be asked to work for the federal government.
Presidents can use rarely-used legal mechanisms to activate the National Guard. In this case, Trump relied on a federal law - Title 10 - which allows the president to federalise troops under three circumstances.
These include: where the US is invaded or in danger of invaded, where there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the government's authority, and where the president is "unable with the regular forces" to execute US laws.
It is not yet clear if presidents can use this mechanism without the order of the state's governor. California Governor Gavin Newsom has called the move from Trump "purposefully inflammatory".
Despite this, the interim US attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, has said the 2,000 National Guard deployed by Trump will arrive in Los Angeles within 24 hours.
Donald Trump has ordered 2,000 National Guard to Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants, following a second day of clashes.
Here's what's happened so far:
Clashes between local law enforcement in Los Angeles and protesters against immigration raids continued into the early hours, although we're getting reports that they have since died down.
Image source, Getty ImagesFireworks were reportedly launched towards police lines during the clashes on Saturday night
Image source, Getty ImagesIn pictures from agencies, people were seemingly shown looting a gas station, but it is not clear if they were linked to the protests
Image source, Getty ImagesOfficers for the LA County Sheriff's Office were also spotted in Compton, south of downtown Los Angeles
Image source, Getty ImagesThe clashes have been mostly concentrated in predominantly Latino areas of LA county
Image source, ReutersAs we've been reporting, the interim US attorney for the Central District of California has told the New York Times that the National Guard is needed to "regain order".
"The state has an obligation to maintain order and maintain public safety, and they’re unable to do that right now in Los Angeles," he said.
"They threw rocks at the officers," Bill Essayli told the outlet. "We had Molotov cocktails thrown. We had all kinds of assaults on agents."
But in a post on X, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta said local law enforcement in LA "have the resources they need at the moment" and Trump's order to deploy the National Guard was "unnecessary and counterproductive".
The state's governor, Gavin Newsom, echoed Bonta's comments, saying the order had been made "not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle".
Image source, Getty ImagesIt's just gone 02:00 in LA, and clashes between protesters and police are seemingly ongoing, although there are conflicting reports from US media about the current situation.
According to the New York Times, confrontation between police and demonstrators in Paramount has escalated over the past hour, with protesters reportedly launching fireworks towards police, while officers fired pepper-spray projectiles and other weapons in response.
The LA County Sheriff's Department, which serves the wider county, has not issued an updated statement. However, the LA Police Department, which serves the city of Los Angeles, has been issuing updates suggesting unrest is continuing in downtown LA.
In an update after midnight local time, it said multiple people had been detained after breaching a dispersal order, while some road closures were in place due to "unlawful assembly".
NBC News, however, said that while police held a skirmish line after midnight, protests were dying down with small groups of protesters walking the streets while waving flags. It's not clear whereabouts in LA the outlet is referring to.
We'll bring you the latest updates as soon as we have them. Stick with us.
The 2,000 National Guard Donald Trump deployed to Los Angeles will arrive within 24 hours, according to the interim US attorney for the Central District of California.
Bill Essayli tells the New York Times the force is needed to "regain order".
Image source, Getty Imagesof the National Guards on the streets of Los Angeles during the 1992 riots
As we've been reporting, Donald Trump has ordered 2,000 National Guardsmen to LA to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.
It is not the first time the US president has said he would deploy armed forces on home soil.
After civil unrest broke out in the US following the death of George Floyd in police custody in 2020, Trump called on state governors to send troops to Washington DC in response to protests.
Many governors agreed, but those that refused to send troops were allowed to do so.
Trump has also previously outlined plans to use the National Guard to assist federal agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carrying out deportations as part of his crackdown on immigration.
While the Guard usually operates under state command, there are legal mechanisms which allow presidents to activate it under certain circumstances.
For example, former US president George HW Bush used the Insurrection Act to federalise the National Guard in 1992 in response to riots that broke out in LA following the acquittal of white police officers accused of beating a black motorist.
Image source, ReutersTrump has strongly criticised California and LA's Democratic officials amid unrest in parts of the area in recent days.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has called Trump's order for the National Guard to be deployed in the Los Angeles area "purposefully inflammatory".
In a post on social media, he said law enforcement had no unmet need and accused the Trump istration of seeking a "spectacle".
He also criticised the immigration raids, accusing the Trump istration of "sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate".
He shared a message written by his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, which said: "Weaponizing protest to justify federal crackdowns is a dangerous precedent."
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs described the move as "an unnecessary escalation" as she called on the president to reconsider.
"No one wants their community to become militarized — it raises the potential for people to get hurt and erodes public trust. President Trump, don’t do this," she wrote on X.
And Sen Alex Padilla said: "Using the National Guard this way is a completely inappropriate and misguided mission. The Trump istration is just sowing more chaos and division in our communities."