Tuesday’s PBS News Hour led off with special correspondent Marcia Biggs’ nearly nine-minute segment from downtown Los Angeles, ground zero in the confrontation between Trump’s immigration enforcement and protests that often devolved into looting and rioting.
Co-anchors Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett noted that “700 Marines and 2,000 additional National Guard troops began arriving” on Tuesday, while California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Trump drew political swords via a lawsuit filed by Newsom and Trump’s speech at Fort Bragg.
The hosts handed things off to Biggs, embedded in downtown Los Angeles, who saw “tense calm on the streets” while admitting to some looting the night before, with the usual ridiculous caveat of "nonviolent" protests.
Biggs: This morning, shop owners cleaned up several looted stores in downtown Los Angeles. But California authorities have said the majority of last night's protests were nonviolent. In a congressional hearing today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said troops were sent to safeguard ICE agents.
Biggs even quoted former House Speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
Biggs: And, today, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California contrasted Trump's actions now with his handling of the January 6 insurrection.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): Something is very wrong with this picture, inconsistent in his actions, contrary to his own statement that he couldn't -- of a year ago that he couldn't send anyone in without the governor's consent anyplace, and in violation of the Constitution.
Then it was on to the usual ridiculousness about “mostly peaceful protesters.”
Biggs: Elsewhere this week, from Atlanta to New York City, mostly peaceful protesters gathered in multiple cities to call for the end of ICE raids.
She asked Jorge-Mario Cabrera of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, “How scared are people?”
Biggs cited his left-wing paranoia approvingly when she threw things back to the studio.
Biggs: Cabrera believes that this show of force is used as psychological warfare and a provocation, an attempt to show those who support immigrants as unruly and un-American -- Amna.
Nawaz followed up with Biggs about those arrested.
Biggs: ….Cabrera described warrantless dragnets meant to target indiscriminately as many Latinos as possible. Now, of course, the administration flatly denies this and ICE maintains that everyone arrested was living here illegally. But advocates say that they have been detained and have not been able to have access to their families or to any legal representation. But what we do know is that these were all workers. They were targeted at places like a car wash, a Home Depot, a clothing manufacturer. These were all people who were working or looking for work.
Reporting live from downtown L.A., Biggs strove to paint a picture of normalcy, to the point of describing a “festival-like” atmosphere, an illusion instantly shattered by the sound of a flashbang grenade, presumably fired by the authorities. She went on to talk about the “pretty nonviolent standoff” immediately after admitting there had been “some looting” the night before.
Biggs: So the scene here has been pretty quiet, almost festival-like, for the last hour or so. We just heard a flashbang. We just heard another one. This is kind of how it's been going. This is what we saw last night. Of course, we mentioned some looting, but, in general, last night was pretty nonviolent standoff, which would erupt briefly when protesters would set off fireworks and then the LAPD would push them back….
This biased segment has been brought to you in part by Raymond James.
A transcript is available, click “Expand.”
PBS News Hour
6/10/25
7:02:38 p.m. (ET)
Amna Nawaz: Welcome to the "News Hour." After a night of scattered protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, about 700 Marines and 2,000 additional National Guard troops began arriving today. California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state's attorney general asked a court to block further intervention from the Trump administration.
Geoff Bennett: But protests against ICE spread to other cities around the country this week. And, for his part, the president gave no sign of backing down, saying the Guard and Marines were needed in Los Angeles. In a speech at Fort Bragg today, he called protesters a foreign enemy and animals and said he would use every asset to quell violence. Special correspondent Marcia Biggs starts our coverage from Los Angeles.
Marcia Biggs: In downtown Los Angeles today, a tense calm on the streets, with a heavy presence of National Guard members expected to be joined soon by U.S. Marines. In the Oval Office today, President Trump flirted with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act.
Donald Trump, President of the United States: If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We will see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible. We had some bad people. We had people, they look in your face and they spit right in your face. They're animals. And these are paid insurrectionists. These are paid troublemakers.
Marcia Biggs: This morning, shop owners cleaned up several looted stores in downtown Los Angeles. But California authorities have said the majority of last night's protests were nonviolent. In a congressional hearing today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said troops were sent to safeguard ICE agents.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. Defense Secretary: We have deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties, because we ought to be able to enforce immigration law in this country.
Marcia Biggs: The deployment is expected to last 60 days and a Pentagon official said it will cost about $134 million. Yesterday, L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell said bringing in troops complicated police response to the protests.
Jim McDonnell, Los Angeles, California, Police Chief: The introduction of a federal military personnel without direct coordination creates logistical challenges and risks confusion during critical incidents.
Marcia Biggs: And, today, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California contrasted Trump's actions now with his handling of the January 6 insurrection.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): Something is very wrong with this picture, inconsistent in his actions, contrary to his own statement that he couldn't — of a year ago that he couldn't send anyone in without the governor's consent anyplace, and in violation of the Constitution.
Marcia Biggs: Elsewhere this week, from Atlanta to New York City, mostly peaceful protesters gathered in multiple cities to call for the end of ICE raids.
Ana Medina, Home Care Worker: We are not criminals. We are working people. And we are not a trash can for the president. This is not a — I don't understand if this is his way to make America great again, destroy our people, destroy our communities. Destroying America, that's what he's doing.
Marcia Biggs: At Trump Tower yesterday, more than 20 people were arrested after refusing to leave. And in Austin overnight, police fired tear gas containers and arrested protesters.
Woman: We were just out there peacefully protesting. We were not being aggressive towards the cops at all. We were just protesting as normal. And whenever they decided it was over, they just pushed us and used a lot of force.
Marcia Biggs: Back in Los Angeles, demonstrators last night gathered in a small stretch of the city. Some came to protest in solidarity, even if they were scared to identify themselves.
Joel, Protester: I am a U.S. citizen. And that's why I'm here. I'm here for my mom who can't be here. I'm here for my uncles and my family members who cannot be here today. But anybody could just look at me and be like, that's a brown guy right there. He must not be a citizen. So, even with my citizenship, I'm still fearful of being out here.
Marcia Biggs: Kira Conner has lived in L.A. for 35 years. Yesterday, law enforcement and protesters stopped right outside her building. How do you feel about calling in the Marines and the National Guard?
Kira Conner, Los Angeles Resident: I have mixed feelings. I have lived here long enough through many, many riots from Northridge to this, to Rodney King to all that. So it was bound to happen and needed. So I don't think the mayor or Newsom handled anything correctly. That's my opinion. Did Trump overreact? Absolutely.
Marcia Biggs: She says Trump is right to deport undocumented criminals, but the way the raids were conducted is ripping L.A. apart and has struck some of the city's most vulnerable communities.
Kira Conner: Instead of being the nice, showy president, someone has to make moves. At the same time, you don't go after 30- and 40-year-old people in the Garment District that have been working there. And I know that they have grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They make up L.A. They make up downtown. And now they're gone, their families ripped apart. To do this right after our wildfires, this is insanity. We can't take anymore.
Jorge-Mario Cabrera, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights: We believe that about 200 people or more have been detained during the past three or four days.
Marcia Biggs: Jorge-Mario Cabrera with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. He says they have been inundated with calls from families, desperate for information about their loved ones.
Jorge-Mario Cabrera: We only know of probably a dozen or so individuals that we can actually talk to about their case, which means that the others could just simply be already deported or on their way or forced to sign, which is what we're also hearing, that people are being not forced, but certainly encouraged to sign their self-deportation.
Marcia Biggs: How scared are people?
Jorge-Mario Cabrera: Today, I spoke with a couple of workers that went into to do what they need to do to earn their living, honestly. And I asked them directly, why are you here? Aren't you afraid? One of them said: "What I do with my fear is, I bring it with me, put it in my pocket and go on. There's no other option for me."
Marcia Biggs: Cabrera believes that this show of force is used as psychological warfare and a provocation, an attempt to show those who support immigrants as unruly and un-American — Amna.
Amna Nawaz: And, Marcia, we should note you're standing outside that Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. You reported over 200 people arrested in those ICE immigration enforcement raids over the last three or four days. What more can you tell us about the circumstances around those raids and who was arrested?
Marcia Biggs: Well, we don't know very much, Amna, because we haven't been able to speak to anyone who's been detained. But Cabrera described warrantless dragnets meant to target indiscriminately as many Latinos as possible. Now, of course, the administration flatly denies this and ICE maintains that everyone arrested was living here illegally. But advocates say that they have been detained and have not been able to have access to their families or to any legal representation. But what we do know is that these were all workers. They were targeted at places like a car wash, a Home Depot, a clothing manufacturer. These were all people who were working or looking for work.
Amna Nawaz: Marcia, what about in terms of the protests? Give us a sense of what you see and hear going on around you right now and if there's any sense of where things go from here.
Marcia Biggs: So the scene here has been pretty quiet, almost festival-like, for the last hour or so. We just heard a flashbang. We just heard another one. This is kind of how it's been going. This is what we saw last night. Of course, we mentioned some looting, but, in general, last night was pretty nonviolent standoff, which would erupt briefly when protesters would set off fireworks and then the LAPD would push them back. Also keep in mind that this is happening in a very small slice of the city. It's only a few blocks of downtown L.A. And, in the rest of the city, Angelenos are going about their lives as normal.
Amna Nawaz: All right, that's Marcia Biggs reporting for us in downtown Los Angeles. Marcia, our thanks to you and the team. Please stay safe.
Marcia Biggs: Thank you.
