Many California officials have condemned President Trump’s move to send National Guard members to Los Angeles, where protests against immigration raids entered a third day on Sunday.
Mr. Trump on Saturday took the exceptional action of bypassing the authority of California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, to send National Guard members to the city.
Mr. Newsom said on social media on Saturday that Mr. Trump’s order was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
“LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” Mr. Newsom wrote. “We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need.”
Protesters challenging federal immigration sweeps have been confronted by armed officers in tactical gear, in some cases using less-than-lethal projectiles and flash-bang grenades. Officials in California have urged the protesters to be peaceful.
On Sunday, the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, told KTLA, a local news channel, that the National Guard deployment “was just not necessary.”
“I have not yet talked to the president, but I have talked to officials high up in his administration, and I expressed to them that things were not out of control in the City of Los Angeles,” Ms. Bass said.
Some of the most active protests against immigrations raids on Saturday were in Paramount, a city roughly 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said some demonstrators there had thrown objects at federal agents and deputy sheriffs as the situation escalated.
Representative Nanette Barragan, a Democrat who represents a district that includes Paramount, said on Sunday in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” that National Guard members were not needed. She said Mr. Trump’s decision to send them was “only going to make things worse.”
The mayor of Paramount, Peggy Lemons, said at a news conference on Saturday that there had been a lack of communication from federal authorities about the immigration enforcement actions taking place.
Ms. Lemons said that she understood that authorities had to do their jobs, but she noted that community members were also frightened. “When you handle things the way that this appears to be handled, it’s not a surprise that chaos would follow,” she said.
José Luis Solache, a state lawmaker who represents Paramount, shared video from the demonstrations on Instagram on Saturday and said that his team had provided masks to protesters, informed them of their rights and connected them with legal support.
“Our neighborhoods are not a war zone,” Mr. Solache said. “Our families are not threats.”
California Republicans from outside of Los Angeles asserted that state leadership was responsible for the protests.
“Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have a real habit of letting Los Angeles burn,” Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican who represents a district that borders Mexico, said on social media. He appeared to be making a reference to the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles in January.
Representative Kevin Kiley, a Republican who represents a district that stretches along most of the state’s border with Nevada, said on social media on Sunday that the state’s leadership was “egging on” the protesters and had “done everything possible to enable the chaos in LA.”
California’s senators, both Democrats, criticized the president’s deployment of the National Guard.
“The Trump Administration is just sowing more chaos and division in our communities,” Senator Alex Padilla said on social media on Saturday.
Senator Adam Schiff said on social media that President Trump would like a violent confrontation with protesters “to justify the unjustifiable — invocation of the Insurrection Act or some form of martial law.”
Amanda Holpuch covers breaking news and other topics.
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