Tunde Sulaiman 
US President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles after days of unrest caused by immigration raids on undocumented migrants in California.
The violent clashes between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and protesters have progressively worsened since the raids commenced.
The raids have resulted in at least 118 arrests in the city this week, including 44 on Friday, reports The Associated Press. A White House statement said: “Violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California”.
The statement also accused California’s leaders of abdicating their responsibility to protect citizens. Speaking on his Truth Social platform, Trump described Gavin Newsom, California governor, and Karen Bass, LA mayor, as “incompetent”.
He said the Federal Government “will step in and solve the problem … the way it should be solved”. Newsom, however, condemned the deployment of the National Guard, describing it as “cruel and purposefully inflammatory”. The California governor warned that the deployment would only “escalate tensions”.
