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How Many Law Enforcement Agencies Are Involved in LA Immigration Protests?

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How Many Law Enforcement Agencies Are Involved in LA Immigration Protests?

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Bedel Saget/The New York Times

The protests in Los Angeles against immigration raids, now seven days on, have resulted in a considerable law enforcement presence — significant in both its sheer number and its broad representation across local and federal agencies, including military forces.

The New York Times identified more than a dozen groups that were on the ground in the past week. Times journalists reviewed over a thousand videos and images taken of the protests, including drone footage of the downtown area, to determine officers’ locations and movements and the weapons they were carrying.

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Where major agencies were seen operating

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Source: New York Times analysis of photos and videos from the protests; aerial image by Nearmap

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Note: Areas are approximate and based on photographic evidence.

The New York Times

It is extremely unusual for active-duty military personnel to be deployed to respond to a domestic protest, as the Trump administration ordered last week. President Trump commandeered 2,000 members of California’s National Guard and placed them under federal control, bypassing the opposition of state leaders, and then sent another 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the greater Los Angeles area.

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The last time a president bypassed a governor to deploy the National Guard was in March of 1965, on the eve of the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. On Thursday, a federal judge blocked Mr. Trump’s deployment of the troops and ordered the administration to return control of the forces to Gov. Gavin Newsom. The administration has appealed the decision.

The array of local law enforcement officers on the ground, on the other hand, is not unusual. California has a so-called mutual aid system in place that allows police and sheriffs’ departments to request backup from nearby areas if necessary. The two Los Angeles agencies were joined by at least 240 officers from neighboring counties and cities, as well as 600 California Highway Patrol Officers sent by Mr. Newsom.

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Which agencies are represented, and what gear they have

The Los Angeles Police Department has traditionally been in charge of crowd control at protests. Some officers on the ground in recent days have worn basic uniforms, which include a handgun and a baton. Others have been equipped with full riot gear.

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Police officers on horseback have significant physical advantage against crowds.

This week, the L.A.P.D. called for mutual aid from other local municipalities, including:

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The L.A.P.D. also requested assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Similarly, the sheriff’s department has called upon neighboring counties to support its efforts, including:

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The California Highway Patrol has been leading the efforts to contain crowds as they cross, block or take over major thoroughfares — for instance, when protesters briefly blocked Highway 101 on Sunday.

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The Department of Homeland Security, a federal agency, has been performing immigration raids, including those that set off the current wave of demonstrations. Agencies under the department — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — carry out the raids, sometimes with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Mr. Trump federalized the California National Guard and deployed around 4,000 troops to defend federal buildings and federal agents. On Monday, Trump also mobilized the U.S. Marine Corps, which has not operated on domestic soil since the 1992 Los Angeles riots. As of Thursday afternoon, Marines were training in the greater Los Angeles area but had not been seen on the ground at the protest site.

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On Thursday, U.S. Marshals were spotted in the vicinity of the federal building complex, assisting the L.A.P.D with arrests.

How agencies interact

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The National Guard has been positioned alongside Department of Homeland Security officers directly outside a federal building complex in downtown Los Angeles where much of the protest activity has occurred. The Guard members have not been authorized to carry out immigration raids or patrol the city’s streets.

They could be seen on occasion this week interacting with crowds when federal property was involved. On Sunday, the National Guard and D.H.S. officers pushed back demonstrators to clear a way for federal vehicles entering the complex, and the D.H.S. officers sprayed the crowd with pepper spray and pepper balls.

When conducting immigration raids, federal agents from the D.H.S., including Border Patrol, and from the F.B.I. often do interact with crowds of angry community members. Federal agents arrived in armored trucks, wearing tactical gear and carrying military-style rifles, for a raid on a clothing wholesaler on June 6 less than two miles from Los Angeles City Hall. Using flash-bang grenades, the agents dispersed a group of people that gathered to protest the raid.

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Given the relatively small protest area — which has been concentrated in just a few square blocks — officers from various agencies have frequently ended up in close proximity. In the below photo, taken Monday, officers from at least five agencies stand on a single corner.

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An image showing how multiple agencies were stationed outside a federal building during the protests in Los Angeles. Pictured are members of the California National Guard, and officers from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office, and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Los Angeles law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the city’s police department, have responded to demonstrations throughout the city, at times deploying flash-bang grenades, projectiles and other crowd-control measures. They have been authorized only for traffic and crowd control management, and not to perform immigration raids.

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As of Thursday, the L.A.P.D. had already arrested more than 160 people in connection with the demonstrations, most of whom face charges of failure to disperse.

Prominent California leaders, including Mr. Newsom, have accused Mr. Trump of inflaming recent tensions in the state. In a speech on Tuesday, Mr. Newsom sharply criticized Mr. Trump’s deportation agenda, which led to the federal raids last week that set off the protests. He also condemned the administration’s decision to commandeer National Guard troops and deploy Marines, calling it “a brazen abuse of power by a sitting president.”

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Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

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Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, a day after an officer shot and killed a driver in Minnesota, authorities said.

The Department of Homeland Security described the vehicle’s passenger as “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants Thursday afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a written statement.

“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” the statement said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”

There was no immediate independent corroboration of those events or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. During prior shootings involving agents involved in President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement in U.S. cities, including Wednesday’s shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, video evidence cast doubt on the administration’s initial descriptions of what prompted the shootings.

READ MORE: What we know so far about the ICE shooting in Minneapolis

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According to the the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting near a hospital at about 2:18 p.m.

A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers then responded there and found the two people with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers determined they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.

Their conditions were not immediately known. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a Portland city council meeting that Thursday’s shooting took place in the eastern part of the city and that two Portlanders were wounded.

“As far as we know both of these individuals are still alive and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon,” she said.

The shooting escalates tensions in an city that has long had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump, including Trump’s recent, failed effort to deploy National Guard troops in the city.

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Portland police secured both the scene of the shooting and the area where the wounded people were found pending investigation.

“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” said Chief Bob Day. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.

“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” a joint statement said. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”

The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We’ll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”

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They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”

“We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice,” the statement said. “We must stand together to protect Portland.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged any protesters to remain peaceful.

“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said in a post on the X social media platform. “Don’t take the bait.”

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

new video loaded: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

The New York Times sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office for an exclusive interview just hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis. Our White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs explains how the president reacted to the shooting.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, Nikolay Nikolov and Coleman Lowndes

January 8, 2026

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Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

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Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman, yesterday. Multiple observers captured the shooting on video, and community members demanded accountability. Minnesota law enforcement officials and the FBI are investigating the fatal shooting, which the Trump administration says was an act of self-defense. Meanwhile, the mayor has accused the officer of reckless use of power and demanded that ICE get out of Minneapolis.

People demonstrate during a vigil at the site where a woman was shot and killed by an immigration officer earlier in the day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 7, 2026. An immigration officer in Minneapolis shot dead a woman on Wednesday, triggering outrage from local leaders even as President Trump claimed the officer acted in self-defense. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey deemed the government’s allegation that the woman was attacking federal agents “bullshit,” and called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducting a second day of mass raids to leave Minneapolis.

Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images


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Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

  • 🎧 Caitlin Callenson recorded the shooting and says officers gave Good multiple conflicting instructions while she was in her vehicle. Callenson says Good was already unresponsive when officers pulled her from the car. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims the officer was struck by the vehicle and acted in self-defense. In the video NPR reviewed, the officer doesn’t seem to be hit and was seen walking after he fired the shots, NPR’s Meg Anderson tells Up First. Anderson says it has been mostly peaceful in Minneapolis, but there is a lot of anger and tension because protesters want ICE out of the city.

U.S. forces yesterday seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the north Atlantic between Iceland and Britain after a two-week chase. The tanker was originally headed to Venezuela, but it changed course to avoid the U.S. ships. This action comes as the Trump administration begins releasing new information about its plans for Venezuela’s oil industry.

  • 🎧 It has been a dramatic week for U.S. operations in Venezuela, NPR’s Greg Myre says, prompting critics to ask if a real plan for the road ahead exists. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded that the U.S. does have a strategy to stabilize Venezuela, and much of it seems to involve oil. Rubio said the U.S. would take control of up to 50 million barrels of oil from the country. Myre says the Trump administration appears to have a multipronged strategy that involves taking over the country’s oil, selling it on the world market and pressuring U.S. oil companies to enter Venezuela.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released new dietary guidelines for Americans yesterday that focus on promoting whole foods, proteins and healthy fats. The guidance, which he says aims to “revolutionize our food culture,” comes with a new food pyramid, which replaces the current MyPlate symbol.

  • 🎧 “I’m very disappointed in the new pyramid,” Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert who was on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, tells NPR’s Allison Aubrey. Gardner says the new food structure, which features red meat and saturated fats at the top, contradicts decades of evidence and research. Poor eating habits and the standard American diet are widely considered to cause chronic disease. Aubrey says the new guidelines alone won’t change people’s eating habits, but they will be highly influential. This guidance will shape the offerings in school meals and on military bases, and determine what’s allowed in federal nutrition programs.

Special series

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Trump has tried to bury the truth of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. NPR built a visual archive of the attack on the Capitol, showing exactly what happened through the lenses of the people who were there. “Chapter 4: The investigation” shows how federal investigators found the rioters and built the largest criminal case in U.S. history.

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Political leaders, including Trump, called for rioters to face justice for their actions on Jan. 6. This request came because so few people were arrested during the attack. The extremists who led the riot remained free, and some threatened further violence. The government launched the largest federal investigation in American history, resulting in the arrest of over 1,500 individuals from all 50 states. The most serious cases were made by prosecutors against leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. For their roles in planning the attack against the U.S., some extremists were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Take a look at the Jan. 6 prosecutions by the numbers, including the highest sentence received.

To learn more, explore NPR’s database of federal criminal cases from Jan. 6. You can also see more of NPR’s reporting on the topic.

Deep dive

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump takes 325 milligrams of daily aspirin, which is four times the recommended 81 milligrams of low-dose aspirin used for cardiovascular disease prevention. The president revealed this detail in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published last week. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that anyone over 60 not start a daily dose of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease if they don’t already have an underlying problem. The group said it’s reasonable to stop preventive aspirin in people already taking it around age 75 years. Trump is 79. This is what you should know about aspirin and cardiac health:

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  • 💊 Doctors often prescribe the low dose of aspirin because there’s no benefit to taking a higher dose, according to a large study published in 2021.
  • 💊 Some people, including adults who have undergone heart bypass surgery and those who have had a heart attack, should take the advised dose of the drug for their entire life.
  • 💊 While safer than other blood thinners, the drug — even at low doses — raises the risk of bleeding in the stomach and brain. But these adverse events are unlikely to cause death.

3 things to know before you go

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death.

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death.

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Christopher D. Pull/ISTA

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  1. Young, terminally ill ants will send out an altruistic “kill me” signal to worker ants, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications. With this strategy, the sick ants sacrifice themselves for the good of their colony.
  2. In this week’s Far-Flung Postcards series, you can spot a real, lone California sequoia tree in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris. Napoleon III transformed the park from a former landfill into one of the French capital’s greenest escapes.
  3. The ACLU and several authors have sued Utah over its “sensitive materials” book law, which has now banned 22 books in K-12 schools. Among the books on the ban list are The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. (via KUER)

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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