On June 6, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids at three sites in Los Angeles, California, triggering protests in the city’s downtown area. Since then, demonstrations against immigration enforcement raids have continued in Los Angeles and in the nearby cities of Paramount and Compton.
Following reported clashes between protestors and local law enforcement, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of over 4,000 National Guard officers and approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marine officers to the city to quell the protests and restore order. In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a federal lawsuit claiming that President Trump’s actions unlawfully bypassed state authority. Following a U.S. District Judge ruling on June 12 that the deployment was illegal, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the troops should remain in Los Angeles until the next court hearing scheduled for June 17, a decision that is expected to fuel continued civil unrest.
As the situation in California intensifies, anti-ICE protests have spread to other U.S. cities in solidarity. Since June 6, at least 40 cities across 23 states have seen demonstrations against immigration raids, resulting in more than 550 arrests. This has included demonstrations in Austin and Dallas, Texas on June 9 and San Antonio, Texas on June 11. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the deployment of more than 5,000 Texas National Guard troops and 2,000 state police to aid in quelling the protests and supporting the federal immigration raids.
Additional protests were reported on June 10 and 11 in New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Las Vegas, Washington D.C., Santa Ana, Philadelphia, Denver, Spokane, and Atlanta. On June 14, further demonstrations are planned to occur at nearly 2,000 locations across the country to coincide with the president’s military parade scheduled in Washington D.C. on the same day. Widespread transportation and logistics disruptions are anticipated to result from the protests.
Demonstrations against immigration raids disrupt transportation across affected cities
During demonstrations on June 8, protesters blocked lanes and off-ramps on the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, causing the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to suspend traffic for one hour while protestors were cleared from the area. The freeway was briefly shut down for a second time on June 10 due to additional protests. By June 11, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and CHP announced extension ramp closures on the 101 Freeway and Interstate 10 due to ongoing demonstrations. In Denver, an entrance to Interstate 25 was blocked by police to prevent marchers from entering the roadway, eventually leading to a clash between the officers and the group.
Ahead of the scheduled protests on June 14, several cities have released lists of planned road closures in preparation for the events. In Philadelphia, where the flagship protest for the movement will take place, the city announced the closure of several roads near Eakins Oval between 03:00 and 17:00 local time, while other cities like Seattle and Chicago have warned of heavily congested roadways during the demonstrations. Meanwhile, the greater Washington D.C. metro area is expecting dozens of road closures during President Trump’s military parade on the same day, including on I-395, U.S. 50, and the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Further immigration raids raise concerns over labor shortages in agriculture sector
In addition to the logistics impacts from the protests, the federal immigration enforcement raids have raised concerns for the agricultural sector and its labor force. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), about 42% of agriculture workers in the U.S. are undocumented and thus at risk of deportation during raids. As a result, several farms, dairies, and meat packing plants have reportedly been affected by the raids and subsequent labor shortages.
Authorities raided the Glenn Valley Foods meat packing plant in Omaha, Nebraska and detained 70 workers, about half of the site’s workforce, leaving the facility at only 30% of its operational capacity. Further raids reported include one at Pleasant Valley Farms in Berkshire, Vermont, which resulted in the arrest of 8 dairy workers.
California farms have been hit especially hard by the immigration crackdown, which has only fueled and intensified protests in cities like Los Angeles. Immigration raids have been reported on farms in the counties of Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara and Tulare, with at least 40 workers being detained.
The U.S. has a heavy reliance on food production in California’s Central Valley region. Farms in this area depend on undocumented workers to support in the harvest and production that supplies roughly one quarter of the nation’s food supply, including much of its fresh produce. Further raids in these areas are likely not only to incite new protests and prolong existing unrest, but also to threaten U.S. agriculture and by extension, its food security.
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