Foreign Office travel alert issued over Los Angeles protests  

A Foreign Office travel alert has been issued amid demonstrations and protests taking place in Los Angeles.

Travel advice for British travellers to the US was altered on Monday after thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines were deployed in areas of the Californian city to support a federal government response to protests against immigration raids.

Demonstrations were triggered in downtown Los Angeles on Friday after the disclosure that Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) were carrying out raids across the city.

The Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) cited media reports as suggesting the police response to demonstrators has included use of flash-bangs, tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber/sponge bullets. 

The updated travel advice said that British travellers to  Los Angeles should “monitor local media and follow the advice of the local authorities; plan ahead to avoid disruption and stay away from crowds and demonstrations”.

California governor Gavin Newsom has said he "will sue" over the deployment of US marines to the city, having already issued legal action against the Trump administration for deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles without his authorisation.

Other smaller scale demonstrations were reported against ICE in Austin and Dallas in Texas.