President Donald Trump is thanking an appeals court for freezing an order that he return control of National Guard troops to California.

The president claimed, without giving evidence, that the protesters were “paid” agitators, that the Los Angeles police asked for the National Guard, and that swaths of the city were under gang control.

California National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday in a show of force following scattered clashes between immigration agents and protesters and amid a widening political divide between California and the Trump administration.

Protests have continued in the Los Angeles area since Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted mass arrests in the area Friday.

Los Angeles has become the epicentre of heated protests and military mobilisation following aggressive immigration raids by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The demonstrations, which began on 6 June,

California Governor Gavin Newsom blasts the federal government's response to anti-immigration raid protests as "purposefully inflammatory".

On Saturday, June 14 millions of Americans will be participating in protests under the banner “No Kings.” This weekend’s protests were scheduled weeks ago to coincide with a massive military parade in Washington D.C. June 14 is the 250 th anniversary of the United States Army (and Trump’s birthday).