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The protests that roiled Los Angeles over the weekend were set to spread Tuesday across the country, as activists planned demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere.
Rallies protesting ICE raids and the government’s immigration policies have spread across California and beyond this week. A series of so-called No Kings demonstrations are planned nationwide for Saturday.
Some 56 people were arrested in L.A. over the weekend as some 700 marines and more than 2,000 National Guard troops were deployed by President Donald Trump in response to protests that began on Friday, sparking an extraordinary showdown with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who strongly criticized the move as executive overreach.
The state of California is suing the Trump administration over the National Guard deployment, calling the move “unlawful.” A temporary restraining order was added to the lawsuit by California Attorney General Rob Bonta over the decision to federalize members of the National Guard and the Marines on the streets of Los Angeles.
“The President and Secretary (Pete) Hegseth have made clear — publicly and privately — that the Marines are not in Los Angeles to stand outside a federal building,” Bonta wrote in the filing. “They will work in active concert with law enforcement, in support of a law enforcement mission, and will physically interact with or detain civilians.”
NBC News counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast. Some of them involved only a few dozen participants, while others attracted thousands to make a stand against the detention and removal of suspected undocumented migrants.
Many protesters across the country were trade unionists calling for the release of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was arrested on Friday.
Thousands reportedly marched through San Francisco on Monday, the second day of anti-ICE protests there, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The San Francisco Police Department stated on X that the demonstration was “overwhelmingly peaceful,” but added that two small groups “broke off and committed vandalism and other acts” at the end of the night. The department said it made an unspecified number of arrests.
At least 60 people were arrested at a march in San Francisco on Sunday for failing to respond to a dispersal order, NBC Bay Area reported.
“It’s important for us to show up everywhere, because what happened in L.A., what’s happening all over our country,” said Xan Joi of Berkeley, who attended Sunday’s protest with a sign that read “CA National Guard & Newsom: Protect our 1st Amendment rights.”
Jesse McKinnon, of Pleasant Hill, carried a sign that read “Softball dad against tyranny.”
NBC L.A. reported that at least 1,000 people joined a protest at a federal building in Santa Ana, Orange County. The number of arrests is unknown, but they came after police declared the gathering unlawful.
Hundreds gathered at City Hall in San Jose on Sunday, and two separate protests occurred in San Diego.
“This policy hits close to home, our family is a family of immigrants,” Vanessa Garcia-Morales of San Jose told NBC Bay Area.
Referring to one of her two sons, who was at the rally, she said, “His life is at risk, truthfully, with the policy that’s happening. He can very much be targeted by just the way he looks.”
Protests took place across the Portland, Oregon, metro area, as well as in Seattle and Las Vegas.
California House Democrats hosted a Tuesday news conference to discuss ICE arrests and the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles. Rep. Nanette Barragán, who represents the city of Paramount, where the protests started, said they were already under control when National Guard members arrived.
“The sheriff’s department in Paramount got it under control,” Barragán said. “Overnight in Los Angeles, the LAPD got it under control as well and cleared out the situation. And then all of a sudden, the National Guard showed up. We know this is intended to create chaos, to escalate the tensions.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi compared the situation to the Jan. 6 insurrection. She said Trump would not send in the National Guard even when she and other lawmakers “begged” him to.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell shared the same sentiment with NBC News, saying that the department did not request the National Guard be brought in. He said the National Guard’s role, along with the Marines’, is protecting federal employees and facilities, not aiding in protest response.
“The anxiety level is higher, probably because they’re here, and the uncertainty of why they’re here,” he said. “But they’re not, they’re not with us doing the job that we’re doing.”
In an interview with MSNBC, Mayor Karen Bass reiterated her previous statements about the National Guard not being needed in Los Angeles. She also criticized comments from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who called her “a train wreck of a Mayor” and Border Czar Tom Homan, who said she could be arrested if she impedes law enforcement.
“We are 12 months away from the World Cup, and we’re trying to bring our city together to beautify our city. And look at what has happened now,” Bass said. “The White House instigated this by having ICE raids in our city. They are telling us that they’re going to have raids for the next 30 days.”
At least nine people were taken into custody in New York after a tense standoff between protestors and police at a rally on Monday, according to NBC New York.
NYPD confirmed there were “multiple arrests when people refused to comply” outside Trump Tower in Midtown around 1 p.m., before a “disorderly group” was arrested at 6:50 p.m. for blocking traffic and refusing to comply.
The event targeted ICE raids and the travel ban imposed on 12 countries worldwide this week, with restrictions on people from seven more countries.
Protesters also gathered in Boston, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
More than a dozen protesters were arrested in Austin, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on X early Tuesday morning.
“Peaceful protesting is legal. But once you cross the line, you will be arrested. FAFO,” Abbott wrote on X, using the abbreviation for “f— around and find out.”
At least one person was arrested Monday in Dallas, police said, with charges pending, as protesters and law enforcement met in a standoff that shut down a busy intersection.
The Daily Texan reported that some 500 gathered at the Texas Capitol on Monday, while hundreds gathered in San Antonio, according to Spectrum News 1.
Abbott, referring to the deployment of National Guard troops to L.A., said on X that “an organized assault has been waged against federal law enforcement officials.”
Rallies and demonstrations also took place in Charlotte, Atlanta, Louisville, Memphis, Chicago, Detroit and Oklahoma City.
Noem signaled on Tuesday that she would continue the agency’s program of raids and deportations despite the widespread protests.
“ICE will continue to enforce the law,” Noem said.
Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.
Gary Grumbach is a NBC News Legal Affairs Reporter, based in Washington, D.C.
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