Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

It was perhaps inevitable that California, and Los Angeles in particular, would become a flash point in an immigration enforcement showdown with the Trump istration.

Since 2018, California has been a “sanctuary state” that limits official cooperation with federal immigration authorities. In November 2024, the Los Angeles City Counsel ed an even more stringent sanctuary measure, that prohibits city resources and personnel from assisting federal enforcement efforts.

Conservatives have blamed these policies for creating an atmosphere of “lawlessness” that set the stage for this weekend’s clashes. Proponents of the measures counter that local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement increases crime and public health dangers because undocumented migrants will avoid interacting with police and medical providers.

At present, there are more than 600 sanctuary states, counties and cities, including Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New York City, Atlanta and Washington DC.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, about a dozen states – including Texas, Florida and North Carolina – have laws prohibiting their cities from adopting sanctuary policies. Tennessee recently ed a law making it a felony for any local official to advocate or non-cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The Trump istration has accused jurisdictions with sanctuary measures of flouting federal law and have warned of punishments, such as denied federal funding, as a consequence.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of a man allegedly involved in the protests in Los Angeles.

The man assaulted a federal officer and damaged government property near Alondra Boulevard in the city of Paramount, California, the FBI says.

The agency adds the suspect allegedly threw rocks at police vehicles and injured an officer and damaged government vehicles at around 15:30 on Saturday.

Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI's LA Bureau, says: "There will be no tolerance for anyone who interferes with the law enforcement mission and in doing so, puts law enforcement or the community in harm's way."

Image source, FBI

As protests against ICE's extensive arrests roil Los Angeles, another of Trump's immigration policies has come into effect this morning.

Last week, Trump signed an order banning travel to the US by citizens from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Citizens from a further seven countries - Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela - will face partial travel restrictions.

There are some exemptions - including for athletes coming to the US for major sports events such as the 2026 World Cup and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The order doesn't revoke existing visas.

Read more of our coverage here.

Image source, Reuters

At least 42 Mexicans - 37 men and five women - are being held in four detention centres after recent immigration raids took place in Los Angeles, Mexico's foreign minister says.

Speaking to the press this morning, Juan Ramon de la Fuente says the majority of the Mexicans detained were working when they were arrested. Four have already been deported, he adds.

"We will continue our visits to monitor the Mexicans in detention centres in Los Angeles," de la Fuente says.

This comes as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the violent unrest in Los Angeles while calling on US authorities to respect the rule of law in migration processes.

Image source, Getty Images

There are concerns protests could spread to other major US cities.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says his home city could be next.

"I believe it's going to get worse and it's going to be New York," Cuomo tells Bloomberg Radio.

He adds that Trump's decision to deploy to the National Guard against Newsom's wishes was part of the president's formula to create chaos.

Cuomo is running to be New York City mayor, challenging incumbent Eric Adams.

What powers does Trump have to deploy Marines to LA?published at 15:24 British Summer Time 9 June

15:24 BST 9 June

By Lucy Gilder, BBC

President Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said US Marine troops may be mobilised, if the unrest in Los Angeles continues.

Some online have questioned the legality of this and California Governor Gavin Newsom, external has said “threatening to deploy active-duty Marines… is deranged behaviour”.

It wouldn’t be the first time in US history that this has happened though.

About 1,500 Marines were deployed to LA during the riots of May 1992, external, which followed the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Rodney King, a black man.

The president at the time, George H W Bush, used a mechanism called the Insurrection Act to deploy the Marines.

This law gives the president the power to use US military personnel domestically to assist civilian authorities, for example in law enforcement.

“Federal military participation in civilian law enforcement like this has been rare, particularly over the past half century,” says the Brennan Center for Justice.

The Center says that according to US law, the Insurrection Act should be used “only in a crisis that is truly beyond the capacity of civilian authorities to manage”.

But, it adds, because the Act doesn’t clearly define the situations in which it can be used, it gives the president “significant power” to decide when and where to deploy military personnel on American soil.

Image source, Reuters

California Governor Gavin Newsom has repeated that he is suing the Trump istration, after the National Guard was deployed without his permission.

In a post on X, Newsom writes: "This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn’t just apply to [California].

"It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We’re suing him."

Newsom said earlier that the deployment was an "unconstitutional act, and we're going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow."

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, law enforcement officers in LA have been using what are often referred to as "less-lethal" weapons as a means to disperse protesters.

The term often refers to rounds like rubber bullets, sponge bullets and tear gas.

Here's a look at what these mean:

• Rubber bullets: These are projectile rounds fired from guns and feature a rubber coating around a metal core. Though described as "less-lethal", rubber bullets can cause significant injuries and even death
• Sponge bullets: Also known as sponge grenades, these projectiles are about 40mm (1.5 in) long and are made of foam. Like rubber bullets, these can cause serious injuries
• Tear gas: Often deployed by US law enforcement during unrest, tear gas is a chemical compound that causes irritation to the eyes, throat and lungs. Its effects are typically felt immediately

Image source, Reuters

Arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) six months into President Trump's second term topped 100,000, BBC's US partner CBS revealed last week.

ICE recorded more than 2,000 arrests both on 2 and 3 June, internal government data obtained by CBS News shows.

This marks a dramatic increase from the daily average of 660 arrests reported by the agency, external during Trump's first 100 days back at the White House, the federal statistics show. By contrast, during President Biden's last year in office, ICE averaged roughly 300 daily arrests.

On Thursday morning, ICE was holding around 54,000 immigrant detainees in detention facilities across the country.

The increase in detentions comes as the Trump istration is asking Congress to give ICE billions of dollars in extra funds to hire thousands of additional deportation officers and expand detention capacity to hold 100,000 individuals at any given point.

Image source, Reuters

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has just accused Gavin Newsom of being "weak" and standing by as government officials were attacked during protests.

In a post on X, she says the California governor "did nothing as violent riots erupted in Los Angeles for days."

She adds that federal law enforcement officers were "attacked by violent radicals and illegal criminals," alleging Newsom was "too weak to protect the city."

"The Los Angeles Police Chief has even said the riots were getting out of hand."

• As a reminder, Newsom threatened to sue Trump's istration after calling the deployment of the National Guard an "illegal" and "immoral" act. The National Guard was called in to respond to the protests against Newsom's wishes

British photojournalist Nick Stern, who was struck by a 3in less-lethal projectile fired by police during the Los Angeles protests, has just spoken to our colleagues on the World at One programme from his hospital bed.

Stern says he has been "hit by rubber bullets before", typically getting a bruise that remains sore for several days, - but this time "whatever it was that hit me actually perforated the skin," and left "about a 5 cm (2 in) hole in my leg".

Stern says he had surgery yesterday and has an "open wound" and he now requires physical therapy to recover.

The photographer adds that he tries to stay as visible as possible when reporting on protests, having more than 30 years experience, and wears identification that marks him as press.

"I'm not hiding behind cars or buildings - and in fact on Saturday I was literally standing in the middle of the road" at the time he was shot, Stern adds.

He says he doesn't know if he was deliberately targeted or if it can be chalked up to "bad training" of law enforcement officers. "Perhaps he was aiming for somebody near me. I don't know. I can't tell," Stern says.

A spokesman for the LA County Sheriff department says they cannot comment on the shooting until a complaint has been made but they want to ensure the safety of journalists and the general public.

• You can read more about Nick Stern in our story

Image source, AP

Image source, Getty Images

The sun is just rising in LA - on what is expected to be a new day of protests.

The Party for Socialism & Liberation is holding a student walkout at the Federal Building at 11:00 PT (19:00 BST).

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it will lead a peaceful rally and protest at noon to demand the end of ICE raids.

It's holding the rally in solidarity with the Service Employees International Union California (SEIU) calling for the immediate release of union president David Huerta, who was detained and allegedly injured while documenting an ICE raid on Friday.

Here's an map showing the combined areas where the protests have been happening in Los Angeles.

A Home Depot shop in Paramount, roughly 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown LA, became a key protest site. Tear gas and flash-bangs were deployed against protesters who also gathered on Saturday, and armed National Guard troops guarded a nearby business park on Sunday.

There were also reports of an ICE raid at the store, which officials told the BBC were false.

The Federal Building in downtown LA became the focus of protests after it emerged people taken by ICE during the immigration raids were being held there.

Officials in Los Angeles are calling for protesters to stay peaceful as National Guard troops are deployed in the city.

In a post on X, LA Mayor Karen Bass writes that she met with Governor Gavin Newsom and law enforcement officials a little earlier to discuss public safety.

"Angelenos — don’t engage in violence and chaos. Don’t give the istration what they want," she says.

Separately, California's Lt Governor Eleni Kounalakis writes: "What’s happening in LA isn’t about safety — it’s fearmongering."

She adds a call for protesters to be calm: "Stay peaceful. Don’t give Trump what he wants. Our strength is in unity, not chaos."

Image source, X/@MayorOfLA

Tom Edgington
BBC senior journalist

Image source, EPA

A bit earlier, we brought you comments from former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg. During his interview, he claimed to BBC News that:

“The Biden White House itted that - at least according to them - they had 11 million illegal immigrants enter the country.”

There were more than 10 million border “encounters” during President Biden’s time in office, according to US Customs and Border Protection, external.

While that number is historically high, it doesn’t mean this many people came into the US and stayed illegally.

Some would have attempted to cross the border multiple times and been counted more than once and others would have been apprehended and removed. The numbers also include people who tried to enter the country legally and were deemed “inissible”.

Separate figures - from the the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - estimate there were 11 million unauthorised migrants living in the US in 2022, external.

However, this number reflects the total population of unauthorised immigrants - not how many arrived under Biden.

The DHS data show the estimated illegal migrant population has remained relatively stable:

• 2010: 11.6 million
• 2020: 10.5 million (*during President Trump’s first term)
• 2022: 11 million (*under President Biden)

BBC has previously investigated illegal immigration in the US, which you can read more about here.

Image source, EPA

As North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher pointed out earlier, Donald Trump has made tackling undocumented migrants in the US a key priority.

One of his first actions in his second term was to suspend the entry of all undocumented migrants.

Border patrol agents have been told to turn people away without granting them asylum hearings.

Trump also moved quickly to expand fast-track deportations for undocumented migrants who have already entered the country.

For those still in the US, Trump announced plans for a national of undocumented migrants, warning that anyone who doesn't sign up could face prosecution.

Last month, the US government also offered migrants in the country illegally a payment of $1,000 and paid travel if they “self-deport” and choose to leave.

Image source, Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The raids that sparked this weekend's protests are part of the president's aim to enact the "biggest deportation operation" in US history.

Los Angeles, where over one-third of the population is born outside of the US, has been a key target for operations.

In June, the White House increased its goal for ICE officials to make at least 3,000 arrests per day.

Authorities have expanded their search increasingly to include workplaces such as restaurants and retail shops.

Read more about this here.

Jenna Moon
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

It's just gone midday here in London and 04:00 in California. If you're just ing us, we've been following developments from Los Angeles, where protests against ICE took place through the weekend.

The White House has taken an extraordinary measure to tamp down the unrest, mobilising 2,000 National Guard troops to the city - against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Here's what to know:

• A memo from the White House called for thousands of National Guard troops to respond to the protests
• Dozens of people have been arrested over several days as police respond to the unrest - separately, at least 60 people were taken in at related protests in San Francisco
• Activists have said there is "no need" for the troops - a sentiment echoed by Governor Newsom
• The protests have continued in a small section of downtown LA - our Visual Journalism team is preparing a map showing where they have happened and we will bring you more on this a little later
• The Los Angeles Police Department said it has received reports of looting at some shops and are asking businesses to alert them if they are targeted
• Press are being caught up in the police response, with an Australian correspondent and a British photographer hit by a projectiles fired by police

We'll bring you more as we receive it - thanks for staying with us.

Image source, Getty Images

As 2,000 National Guard troops arrive in LA, let's take a look at a memorandum from the White House which mobilised the troops to respond to the protests.

In the memo, the White House says the National Guard are needed because of "violent protests threaten the security of and significant damage to Federal immigration detention facilities and other Federal property".

It also adds that protests which "directly inhibit the execution of the laws ... constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States".

The memo calls for 2,000 troops to be mobilised for 60 days, "or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense".

It also leaves the door open for other US Armed Forces to be deployed to LA. The memo states that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "may employ any other of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion".

• For context, US President Donald Trump has advocated for the Marine Corps to be deployed in response to the protests - though an official order has not yet been made