United States President Donald Trump has sent 2,000 California National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles (LA) following a second day of violent clashes between protesters and federal immigration officers in riot gear.

The unrest erupted on Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, a predominantly Latino city south of LA, where federal agents were stationed at a nearby Homeland Security office.

Tensions had already been running high after immigration raids the day before, including in LA’s fashion district and another Home Depot location, pushing the total number of immigrant arrests in the city above 100.

Trump’s decision to deploy troops came after violent confrontations in Paramount and nearby Compton, where a vehicle was set ablaze. 

The president’s action followed a social media post in which he warned that if California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass failed to “do their jobs,” the federal government would intervene to “solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”

Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol stated that Newsom had ordered additional officers to be dispatched to ensure public safety.

The protests began a day earlier after federal authorities detained 44 protesters for immigration violations on Friday. The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed that recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in LA led to 118 arrests.

The protests in Los Angeles and other cities have been triggered by crackdowns on immigrants across the country. 

ICE’s enforcement tactics, including arrests at immigration court hearings, have intensified under the Trump administration, with over 100,000 migrants detained so far across the U.S.

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