Leire Ventas
BBC Mundo, Los Angeles
Reuters
The Mexican flag has been an iconic symbol in the protests in Los Angeles against the Trump
administration’s immigration policies.
Various iterations of it, at
times combined with the US flag, have been carried by those
protesting peacefully – but also when some streets in LA turned
violent.
Vice-President JD Vance and other
Trump officials are no fans of the flags, dismissing those demonstrators as “insurrectionists waving
foreign flags”.
Stephen Miller, a top White House
adviser, called out “foreign nationals, waving foreign flags, rioting and
obstructing federal law enforcement attempting to expel illegal foreign
invaders” in a post in X on Sunday.
But for many of the protesters
who are Mexican-American and US citizens by birth right, the flag signifies
pride in their heritage.
“It represents family, identity,
culture”, Alexandro J. Gradilla, an associate professor and chair of
the Chicana/o Studies Department at California State University,
Fullerton, told me.
“It is a reflection of people
having a sense of history and community, and people see that flag as something
beyond representing a country”.
Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, Singapore
Getty
Photos of vehicles engulfed in flames were some of the most striking images to come out of the protests in Los Angeles yesterday.
The BBC understands that five vehicles operated by Google-owned robotaxi firm Waymo were vandalised during the unrest. The company does not believe it was intentionally targeted.
For now, it is still offering services in the city – but removed its cars from the downtown area yesterday and is still not operating there.
Meanwhile, Waymo is still operating in San Francisco but is understood to not be providing services in areas where protesters may be gathering.
Alex Lederman
Reporting from Los Angeles
A group of protesters has entered into a tense standoff with police in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo area.
We saw one demonstrator throw a bottle at officers and another set off fireworks directed at police.
We’ve heard stunt grenades fired by authorities and have read reports that they fired pepper balls at protesters.
Police have declared this an unlawful assembly.
A huge line of additional police cars arrived as reinforcements blaring sirens. Extra officers on foot wielding batons have assembled too.
Police from several surrounding counties are here, alongside California Highway Patrol. Los Angeles County called for backup last night.
Police moved in on protesters on Monday, firing rubber bullets at crowds, which were seen dispersing through LA streets.
Watch the video below:
FBI
A man who allegedly threw rocks at law enforcement vehicles during protests in Paramount, California has landed on the FBI’s most wanted list.
The agency is asking for the public’s help in identifying the man for “assaulting a federal officer” and “damaging government property’.
The suspect is pictured in photos wearing a cap and bandana across his face and climbing on top of a car.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information on the individual, saying he is considered “armed and dangerous”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he “will sue” over the deployment of US marines to LA.
As we reported earlier, Newsom and California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta have already sued the Trump administration for deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles without Newsom’s authorisation.
In a post on X a short while ago, Newsom wrote, “US Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country – defending democracy. They are not political pawns.
The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend.
It’s a blatant abuse of power.
We will sue to stop this.
The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling.
This is a red line — and they’re crossing it. WAKE UP!”
BBC correspondent Carl Nasman moved with the national guard and police as media were kept a safe distance from the protest frontline.
Nasman said for the first time on Monday he had seen authorities use stun grenades and other non-lethal weapons.
Watch the clip below:
Joel Angel Juarez via Reuters
We are now following protests being held in Austin and Dallas, Texas to show solidarity with LA.
In Austin, a large crowd of more than 100 people marched to the JJ Pickle Federal Building which is being used as an ICE facility.
They held signs, flags and chanted slogans of “no more ICE” in a standoff with police.
There were some reports of vandalism when the crowd reached the federal building.
Austin police declared an unlawful assembly and told protestors they would be arrested or subject to “chemical agents” if they didn’t leave.
Police later used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
In Dallas, an estimated group of 400 people gathered at the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in what was largely a peaceful crowd, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Protests against immigration raids and mass deportations have erupted in cities across the US after the National Guard was deployed to LA.
People have gathered for marches in places from Tampa, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts to Houston, Texas.
Christal Hayes and Max Matza
Reporting from Los Angeles
As we continue to watch protests over immigration enforcement, we’re getting news that immigration raids are going on in LA.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said she was aware of at least “five raids by ICE throughout the region” today alone – including one near her grandson’s school.
Police in Santa Ana, a city about 30 miles (48 kilometres) southeast of LA in Orange County, confirmed that immigration authorities were conducting “enforcement actions” in the city today.
“We acknowledge that this news causes fear and uncertainty to many in our community,” a statement from police says.
Local media reported protests were currently underway in the city over the operations.
Alex Lederman
Reporting from Los Angeles
Police have continued marching protesters forward, but they’ve now held back the row of media well behind the demonstrators.
We watched as the dozens of police cars following the officers on foot passed us by.
They’re now pushing us backwards in the other direction, further away from the protesters.
As police have passed various intersections, motorcycles have stayed behind blocking them off.
In a post on X just over the last few moments, US Vice-President JD Vance doubles down on the deployment of troops to crack down on protests against immigration raids in LA.
“This administration will not be intimidated by lawlessness,” Vance says. “President Trump will not back down.”
Trump has authorised the deployment of another 2,000 National Guards troops earlier today.
His message comes as California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking the Trump administration to court over the troops.
Alex Lederman
Reporting from Los Angeles
After a tense 45-minute standoff, police have started moving to clear protesters outside the Federal Building.
We’ve heard loud bangs as they pressed forward.
Police fired stun grenades as they moved forward to push protesters back.
The National Guard on the steps have moved down to street level, still holding riot shields.
Defiant protesters are backing up, still waving flags in front of the first row of officers.
Protesters then began marching forward on police down a perpendicular street, chanting “Peaceful protest.”
Police are backing up as protesters move forward down this street.
We are behind the row of police. They are telling us and other media to back up and move to the side walk as they move backwards.
Earlier we reported California Governor Gavin Newsom saying that Trump was deploying another 2,000 National Guard troops to LA.
That has just been confirmed by the Trump administration.
The Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell has confirmed another 2,000 National Guardsmen have been federalised to head to Los Angeles.
“At the order of the President, the Department of Defense is mobilising an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support ICE (and) to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties,” Parnell says.
LA Mayor Karen Bass now says that there was “nothing happening in our city” that warranted the immigration raids that sparked these protests.
“It makes me feel like our city is a test case,” she says, as the federal government “moves in and takes authority” from the local government.
She adds that the Trump administration’s description of Los Angeles as a “migrant invasion” was “despicable”.
“We need to come together and not accept this, not be divided,” Bass says. “We have always embraced being a city of migrants.”
LA Mayor Karen Bass is now giving an update.
She begins with the rally for David Huerta, the SEIU union president, who has been released on bail.
She says that there was a rally around City Hall that ended up at the federal building, and it was peaceful.
Bass says that there are a few hundred individuals who remain at that building now, but there have been no reports of violence – we’ve been seeing pictures of police moving that crowd on in the last few moments.
She says that there are worries as it gets dark, adding that she hopes there will not be any problems.
LA police chief Jim McDonnell is now taking questions, and he’s just been asked about the tactics behind moving protesters on.
He says that the approach is to move a crowd away from where a threat is – for example, if people are throwing rocks or other ammunition at officials.
Police will attempt to disperse the crowd to stop people from being able to do that, and to be able to arrest those individuals.
He adds that authorities are moving the crowd to a place where they can cause the least damage.
We’re about to hear from the mayor, so stay with us.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell are on a joint press conference now.
McDonnell says LAPD has been put on a tactical alert, and that he is aware that the president “intends to deploy or or has deployed Marines to Los Angeles”.
He says this creates logistical challenges and risks confusion, and that Los Angeles authorities have “decades” of experience managing large scale public gatherings.
Stay with us for more updates from the LA officials.
We’re hearing from our reporters on the ground that police are moving in on protesters gathered by the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.
To keep up with the scenes currently unfolding, click Watch Live above.
Over on the BBC News channel, we’ve just been hearing from Jamie Contreras, who is a friend and union colleague of David Huerta.
Contreras says that Huerta, who was arrested on Friday and released on bail this afternoon, is innocent “and we’ll prove that in court”.
Officials accuse Huerta of deliberately obstructing federal agents during an immigration raid. Huerta said this afternoon he didn’t intend to get arrested.
Contreras tells the BBC that the Service Employees International Union California, or SEIU, has instructed its members to protest peacefully – and not to interfere with immigration enforcement agents.
