As anti-ICE demonstrations entered their fifth consecutive day in Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday announced an overnight curfew for a one-square-mile area of downtown Los Angeles in a bid to stem further violence and property damage. The order comes amid nearly 470 arrests, 23 looted businesses, and intensifying confrontations between protesters and law enforcement.
The curfew will run from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, covering the area bordered by the 5 Freeway, 110 Freeway, and 10 Freeway, ending where the 5 and 110 merge. Bass stressed that the restriction is not citywide and urged non-residents to avoid the downtown area.
“The city of Los Angeles is a massive area, 502 square miles,” Bass said. “The area of downtown, where the curfew will take place, is one square mile … Some of the imagery gives the appearance of a citywide crisis and it is not.”
Exemptions include residents, workers, credentialed press, and the unhoused, as confirmed by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. Law enforcement is authorized to arrest violators and press charges, Bass said.
Due to the unrest, Metro Los Angeles has shut down nine downtown rail stations, including:
-
Pico
-
Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill
-
Historic Broadway
-
Little Tokyo/Arts District
-
Civic Center/Grand Park
-
7th/Metro
-
Union Station
-
Pico/Aliso Station
These closures are in effect until further notice.
The protests erupted after ICE immigration raids last Friday in the Westlake District, downtown L.A., and South L.A. Video footage and witness accounts describe crowds attempting to block ICE vans and confront federal agents during arrests.
2 hours after this tweet LA implemented a curfew https://t.co/bdykMS4tcF
— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) June 11, 2025
President Donald Trump responded by deploying 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to safeguard federal buildings and ICE operations in the city. Governor Gavin Newsom has sharply criticized the move, calling it unconstitutional and vowing legal action.
“Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom wrote Sunday on X. “California will be taking him to court.”
The deployment has ignited a broader constitutional debate. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, federal law prohibits active-duty military from engaging in domestic law enforcement without a formal invocation of the Insurrection Act—something Trump has not yet done. However, when asked on Tuesday if he might invoke the law, Trump responded:
“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see.”
The Trump administration maintains that the military presence is justified to protect federal property and ICE personnel amid escalating violence. Trump has accused state and local leaders of failing to maintain control and claimed that without federal intervention, “Los Angeles would be burning.”
According to LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff’s data, arrests have climbed steadily since the protests began:
-
Saturday: 47 arrests
-
Sunday: 95 arrests
-
Monday: 114 arrests
-
Tuesday: 213 arrests, bringing the total to 469
Law enforcement officials described “a concerning escalation in unlawful and dangerous behavior,” citing vandalism, looting, and threats to federal facilities.
