Protesters used cement blocks and shopping carts to block the road and jeered at officers, shouting at them to get Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) “out of Paramount”. They shouted: “We see you for what you are” and “you are not welcome here”. One handheld sign read: “No human being is illegal”.

The White House said in a statement Saturday that Mr Trump was deploying the Guardsmen – despite opposition from California’s governor – to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester” in California. On his Truth Social platform, the US president said: “The Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved” if Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, and the Los Angeles mayor “can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t.” Mr Newsom said the federal government was “moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers” and warned that it would only escalate tensions. “This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,” said Mr Newson, who on Friday branded the arrests “cruel”.

Local authorities “are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” the governor also said, adding that “there is currently no unmet need”.