Tensions reached a boiling point in Los Angeles Monday morning as the city awoke to a heavy federal presence and the specter of escalating conflict between California state leaders and former President Donald Trump’s administration. The deployment of National Guard troops — ordered by Trump without state consent — has sparked a fierce legal and political backlash amid widespread protests over federal immigration raids.

Thousands of Angelenos flooded the streets over the weekend, protesting what civil rights advocates are calling “an unconstitutional federal occupation” and demanding the release of detained immigrants. The protests were largely peaceful, but flared into confrontations near detention centers Sunday evening, with police deploying tear gas and less-lethal munitions in attempts to disperse crowds. Authorities reported fireworks and rocks thrown at officers.

The protests were triggered in part by the arrest of David Huerta, a prominent union leader. The ACLU, which is hosting a downtown rally today at noon, has demanded his release and condemned what it calls “ongoing human rights abuses by ICE.” In a statement, the group declared:

“We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced.”

The former president has praised the Guard’s presence, calling it a “great decision” and claiming — without evidence — that Los Angeles would have been “completely obliterated” without federal intervention.

But state officials are pushing back hard.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared the deployment illegal, immoral, and unconstitutional, accusing Trump of “federalizing the Guard without consent” — a move not seen since the 1992 LA riots and never without the governor’s request since 1965.

“Donald Trump has lit the match and thrown it on a powder keg,” Newsom said on MSNBC. “He’s not restoring order — he’s provoking chaos.”

Newsom announced that California will sue the federal government, challenging what he described as a blatant violation of federal law, which requires coordination with state leaders before deploying National Guard forces.

Meanwhile, Trump’s immigration adviser, Tom Homan, defended the raids in a Monday interview, stating,

“We arrested gang members, a sexual predator, someone with an armed robbery conviction… We made LA safer.”

He promised that daily raids would continue, despite local opposition.

Over the weekend, massive crowds marched from City Hall to the federal courthouse and detention centers, shutting down parts of the freeway in an unprecedented show of defiance. Demonstrators held signs reading “Immigrants are LA” and “This is our home.”

The escalating standoff has ignited a nationwide debate on the limits of presidential power, state rights, and immigration enforcement. As the legal battle begins, Los Angeles remains under tight security — and on edge.