For the second consecutive day, federal agents faced off against demonstrators in the Los Angeles area on Saturday and tear gas and flash bangs were used to disperse the crowd over immigration activity, which even prompted a senior White House official to call the protests a “violent insurrection.”
Top officials of US President Donald Trump’s administration have warned to prosecute anyone who interferes with the enforcement of immigration laws. Border Patrol personnel in riot gear were seen outside an industrial park in Paramount city, and deployed tear gas as protesters gathered across the street. Some of the protesters jeered at the personnel while recording the event.
A woman was heard saying through the megaphone, “ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are, you are not welcome here.” Another handheld sign stated, “No Human Being is Illegal.”
A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. @ICEgov will continue to enforce the law.
And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) June 7, 2025
The security agents remained in a tense situation with protesters as some showed Mexican flags and others covered their mouths with respiratory masks.
The Right to assemble and protest does not include a license to attack law enforcement officers, or to impede and obstruct our lawful immigration operations.
We are thoroughly reviewing the evidence from yesterday’s incident in Los Angeles and we are working with the US…— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) June 7, 2025
The FBI has taken over the investigation of instances of demonstrators obstructing immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday, with FBI’s Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirming on X “We are thoroughly reviewing the evidence from yesterday’s incident in Los Angeles and we are working with the US Attorney’s Office to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
People react as a Department of Homeland Security officer shoots pepper balls during a protest in Los Angeles on Friday. (Photo: AP)
The head of Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, in a post on X said “A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down.”
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told Fox News that National Guards would be deployed in the Los Angeles area on Saturday evening.
A first round of protests triggered on Friday in Los Angeles after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carried out immigration enforcement operations in the city and arrested 44 people on alleged immigration violations.
A tense scene unfolded outside the area as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away.
