Los Angeles mayor lifts curfew imposed during protests

LOS ANGELES — Downtown Los Angeles businesses hoped customers would return quickly on Tuesday after Mayor Karen Bass lifted a curfew she had imposed last week to prevent vandalism and break-ins during nighttime protests against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

A fraction of the sprawling US city had been off-limits from 8 pm to 6 am to most people for a week after instances of looting and vandalism during demonstrations against Trump's immigration raids.

Bass said the curfew had been "largely successful in protecting stores, restaurants, businesses and residential communities from bad actors who do not care about the immigrant community".

However, she added that "as we continue quickly adapting to chaos coming from Washington", she was prepared to reissue a curfew if needed.

Bass and other California officials have accused Trump of inflaming tensions by sending 4,000 of the state's National Guard troops — as well as 700 Marines — to the second-largest US city.

Trump ignored the objections of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who would usually oversee the Guard.

A judge said on Thursday that the Republican president's actions were "illegal" and ordered that he return control of the force to Newsom.

But a higher court paused that ruling after the Trump administration lodged an appeal and slammed the judge's order as an "extraordinary intrusion on the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief".

At an appeals hearing on Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that Trump needed to keep control of California's troops to ensure federal immigration officers could carry out arrests without threats from the public.

"Unfortunately, local authorities are either unable or unwilling to protect federal personnel and property from the mob violence ongoing in Los Angeles today," said Brett Shumate, representing the Trump administration.

California officials have rejected that charge, insisting that Trump's use of the military has escalated demonstrations that Los Angeles law enforcement could have handled.

Samuel Harbourt, representing Newsom and California, pointed out that local authorities in Los Angeles have made around 1,000 arrests during the disorder.

Harbourt urged the San Francisco court to lift the pause on the original order, meaning Trump would have to concede control of the Guard.

On Tuesday afternoon, the impact of days of protests could be seen in the boarded-up windows lining the streets of Little Tokyo, a historical Japanese American district right next to a federal detention building still heavily guarded by military troops.

Don Tahara, the owner of Far Bar, said businesses in the area have been hit hard with vandalism and some break-ins. Since people assumed the curfew would still be in place on Tuesday, Far Bar has continued to experience many cancellations of reservations and events.

Combined with the lingering effects of the LA wildfires earlier this year, tariff-induced price increases and other increased costs, it has been a challenging climate for businesses to navigate, Tahara said.

Agencies via Xinhua