A national day of action against federal immigration enforcement erupted into clashes in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, with a group of protesters setting a dumpster on fire, as tensions escalated between demonstrators and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Why It Matters
The confrontations in downtown Los Angeles reflect growing tensions over recent fatal shootings linked to federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
Local officials placed the city on tactical alert as officers used chemical irritants and issued dispersal orders, highlighting how quickly a largely peaceful day of protest escalated at nightfall.
What To Know
Thousands had gathered as part of the nationwide “ICE Out” movement, which included calls for work stoppages, school walkouts, and consumer boycotts.
The Los Angeles demonstration began outside City Hall before crowds moved toward East L.A., joining similar protests across the country following two fatal shootings by federal immigration agents in Minnesota.
Shortly before 5 p.m., video captured protesters throwing objects toward federal agents stationed behind the detention center near Alameda Street.
Officers deployed pepper spray, and the LAPD declared a citywide tactical alert, keeping all officers on duty. A dispersal order followed as law enforcement formed skirmish lines around the facility.
As the confrontation intensified, protesters moved a dumpster toward the building’s loading dock before setting it ablaze, ABC7 reported.
Firefighters initially attempted to extinguish the flames but withdrew after being confronted by a small number of protesters still in the street, aerial footage and incident updates showed.
The fire burned for roughly 20 minutes before officers pushed the remaining crowd back, allowing firefighters to return. Officials said there was no indication the blaze spread to the building.
Photographs from the scene showed federal agents in riot gear, protesters with signs opposing ICE, and the burned dumpster area near the loading dock, corroborating reports of the evening escalation.
The Los Angeles demonstration was one of many held Friday across California and the wider U.S., including rallies in Orange County, where participants marched in high temperatures and local businesses adjusted operations in response to the national call to withhold economic activity.
Organizers and attendees described the actions as part of a broader effort to protest immigration enforcement practices and the recent use of deadly force.
What People Are Saying
LA Mayor Karen Bass wrote on X: “Peaceful protest is a constitutional right. I urge Angelenos to exercise that right safely and not give this administration an excuse to escalate.”
The Los Angeles Police Department said: “Federal Authorities are taking debris, bottles and other objects. Federal Authorities have declared an Unlawful Assembly at the Detention Center and they have deployed pepper balls and tear gas.”
Referring to the use of chemical irritants, protester Yamilet Segundo, 19, said: “I wasn’t expecting to see this.”
Phil Swift, 22, said: “It’s burning and I can’t even open my eyes.”
Protester Irene Alvarez told the Los Angeles Times: “I’m standing in solidarity with everything that’s going on in the world, standing here for my immigrant parents, standing here for my immigrant neighbors that came from nothing to something, that came for a better life. What’s this better life that we’re dealing with?”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek: “Attacks and demonization of ICE are wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 1,300 percent increase in assaults.
“Illegal aliens that ICE is deporting broke our nation’s laws. DHS is a law enforcement agency, and it will continue to carry out immigration enforcement for the safety of Americans who have been victimized by rapists, murderers, drug traffickers, and gang members.”
What Happens Next
Authorities will continue to assess arrests, property damage, and any injuries from Friday night while protest organizers plan additional actions over the weekend tied to the national “ICE Out” campaign.
