LOS ANGELES — Dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together Wednesday to demand the Trump administration stop the stepped-up immigration raids that spread fear across their cities and sparked protests across the U.S.
They called on President Donald Trump to pull back on using armed military troops alongside immigration agents during the raids.Â
"I'm asking you, please listen to me, stop terrorizing our residents," said Mayor Jessica Ancona of El Monte, who said she was hit by rubber bullets during a raid in her city.
Jaslyn Hernandez, daughter of a car wash worker, embraces her sister Kimberly Hernandez and their uncle Juan Medina Wednesday during a news conference with families of detained car wash workers in Culver City, Calif.Â
California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, asked a federal court to put an emergency stop to the military helping immigration agents across the nation's second-largest city.
This week, guardsmen began standing protectively around agents as they carry out arrests. National Guard members also temporarily detained civilians during protests before turning them over to law enforcement, according to the commander in charge.
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A judge set a hearing for Thursday.
The military is now closer to engaging in law enforcement actions such as deportations, as Trump promised as part of his immigration crackdown. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests will be made by law enforcement.
Some 2,000 National Guard soldiers are in Los Angeles, and are soon to be joined by 2,000 more along with about 700 Marines, said Army Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, head of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the deployment of National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles.
Sherman said Wednesday that even though protests have calmed down in Los Angeles, he expects the situation will escalate.
"We are expecting a ramp up," he said, noting that protests are bubbling up across the nation. "I'm focused right here in LA, what's going on right here. But you know, I think we're very concerned."
Members of the California National Guard conduct exercises Wednesday in Los Alamitos, Calif.
Curfew will continueÂ
Police detained more than 20 people, mostly on curfew violations, on the first night of restrictions in downtown Los Angeles and used crowd-control projectiles to break up hundreds of protesters.
But there were fewer clashes than on previous nights, and by daybreak, the downtown streets were bustling with residents walking dogs and commuters clutching coffee cups.
LA's nightly curfew, which the mayor said would remain in effect as long as necessary, covers a 1-square-mile section that includes an area where protests have occurred since Friday in the sprawling city of 4 million. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles.
"If there are raids that continue, if there are soldiers marching up and down our streets, I would imagine that the curfew will continue," Mayor Karen Bass said.
Los Angeles police have made almost 400 arrests and detentions since Saturday, the vast majority of which were for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement, according to the police department. Nine police officers have been wounded, mostly with minor injures.
California Highway Patrol officers arrest a protester Tuesday near the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.Â
Authorities announce arrests
Two people accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at police during the LA protests over the weekend face charges that could bring up to 10 years in prison, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. No one was injured by the devices.
One of the suspects is a U.S. citizen, and the other overstayed a tourist visa and was in the U.S. illegally, authorities said.
A protester wearing a shirt reading "WHITE MEN for TRUMP" argues with another protester Tuesday in Santa Ana, Calif.Â
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that 330 people in the country illegally have been arrested since Friday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately confirm that number to The Associated Press. Instead, the department pointed to news releases naming more than a dozen of those arrested by immigration authorities who had prior criminal convictions.
Those who have been caught up in the nationwide raids include asylum seekers, people who overstayed their visas and migrants awaiting their day in immigration court.
The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.
Thousands of people peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held after workplace raids.
Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been present at libraries, car washes and Home Depot locations.
School graduations in Los Angeles increased security over fears of ICE action, and some offered parents the option to watch online.
