Heavy smoke is seen as protesters clash with Los Angeles sheriff deputies in Paramont, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, June 7, 2025. Several people were arrested on Saturday after protesters clashed with U.S. immigration agents for the second day in a row in Southern California. (Photo by Qiu Chen/Xinhua)

The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, said two days of protests had not slowed federal enforcement in the region, and he warned that federal authorities were investigating protesters, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.

Several people were arrested on Saturday after protesters clashed with US immigration agents for the second day in a row in Southern California, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

After US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guardsmen to Los Angeles, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also warned on social media late Saturday that "if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert." The statement drew strong rebuke from California governor Gavin Newsom. 

A Chinese expert said that the riot in Los Angles shows the Republicans are using immigration issues to shore up their core base, and the polarization of US politics has reached a point where governance logic takes a backseat to partisan struggle.

US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Saturday deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to help disperse protests in Los Angeles, CNN reported Sunday. 

In a statement, the White House said the defense secretary could "employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions."

Protests in and around Los Angeles erupted on Friday after at least 44 people were arrested by federal immigration agents earlier in the day, according to multiple media reports.

In Paramount, California, tear gas and flash bangs were used to disperse protests. Four people were arrested on Saturday, Assemblymember José Luis Solache told US media.

Dozens of potentially violent demonstrators were observed by law enforcement outside the LAPD's jurisdiction Saturday evening, per CNN.

A crowd of protesters in Paramount, southeast of Los Angeles, became "increasingly agitated, throwing objects and exhibiting violent behavior toward federal agents and deputy sheriffs," the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said in an advisory Saturday night.

A witness named Michelle guzman told the Global Times on Sunday that "It sounds crazy that they just took on immigrants under the name of federal agents," adding that especially in LA, where has the biggest pot of immigrants, no wonder people got heated. 

"We shall at least know what our rights are when facing these kind of situations," Michelle said.

Emilie Lee, an immigrant from South Korea who just got her ID after married a native in 2024, told the Global Times that as an immigrant herself, she is really disappointed to see that and "feels regretful for my application to become a citizen of such a cold-hearted country."

She said that nobody knows if our identities will suddenly be revoked in the future or if our family will be broken up.

Essayli said two days of protests had not slowed federal enforcement in the region, warning that federal authorities were investigating protesters, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"We've got lots of video online and both surveillance videos. We have FBI teams working around the clock; we will identify you. We'll find you, and we'll come get you," he told KCAL-9 News on Saturday night.

Active-duty US Marines at Camp Pendleton are on "high alert" for deployment in reaction to immigration protests in Los Angeles, Hegesth said Saturday.

In a post on X announcing the mobilization of National Guard troops in reaction to the protests, Hegseth said the Marines could be called in too if violence continues.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Global Times that the Trump administration chose to crack down on immigration in California - where the public holds a relatively tolerant attitude toward immigrants - to showcase a tough stance toward blue states to Republican-leaning states. This aims to cater to conservative support and deflect attention from domestic political pressures, the expert added.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said late Saturday that Hegseth is exhibiting "deranged behavior" in threatening to send active-duty Marines to Los Angeles to help quell immigration protests. "The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens," Newsom said in a post on X. "This is deranged behavior."

"If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!" Trump said in post on the official White House X account, first posted before he ordered the National Guard to be deployed.

Lü noted that the current level of contradiction between the two major US parties is unprecedented.

The polarization of US politics has reached a point where governance logic takes a backseat to partisan struggle, the expert said, adding that the willingness to even use "creating chaos" as a political tool is a novel phenomenon, and it is likely to deteriorate further in the future.