Exclusive video: Los Angeles rocked with chaotic — and sometimes violent — anti-ICE protests

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Even before President Donald Trump entered the White House for the second time last month, the City of Angels was preparing to resist his promised deportation operations at the political and street activist levels.

While it is hard to determine exactly how many illegal immigrants are in Los Angeles County, one estimate from the Migration Policy Institute put that number at 951,000. But that number is from 2019, over five years ago and before millions more illegal immigrants entered the country under the Biden-Harris administration.

The city is now grappling with the prospect of being the next target of a massive sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and partnering federal law enforcement. The fear of hardened criminals — and subsequently anyone else who is here illegally — being targeted has resulted in daily protests throughout Los Angeles that have sometimes gotten out of hand.

There was a lot of attention on the anti-ICE protests when demonstrators took over US-101 near the city hall on February 2. Police had to force hundreds of people away in order to restore the flow of traffic.

Every day since that Sunday, there have been protests stemming from either far-left groups or high-schoolers walking out of class. Most converge at Los Angeles City Hall or historic Olvera Street, often waving the flags of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, or one of the other Latin American countries. A few American flags are also present.

The protests gained a greater sense of urgency after the Los Angeles Times reported that ICE is planning a massive operation.

Hundreds of high school students across the county took part in walkouts during the daytime last week. Friday was supposed to be one of the biggest and longest showings of support for illegal immigrants, but it ended quickly due to multiple fights that broke out among protesters in front of city hall. At one point, one protester stabbed another in the back, resulting in significant blood loss.

The Los Angeles Police Department was not on the scene when the fighting occurred, arriving shortly after a call was made about the stabbing. The fire department responded to provide medical care and to transport the victim away. While the victim was still conscious, his skin had turned pale.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has done little to prevent students from walking off campus. In a statement after the fights and stabbing, LAUSD administrators said that while they support the right of students to "advocate causes that are important to them, we are gravely concerned for their safety at off-campus demonstrations and encourage them to remain on our campuses."

The protests gained a greater sense of urgency after the Los Angeles Times reported that ICE is planning a massive operation to apprehend illegal immigrants in the area before the end of February. Those plans have probably changed, as this is now at least the third major leak to the public about an operation. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has expressed frustration over the leaks and has vowed to hold accountable those responsible, as it puts officers' safety at risk.

Homan told Fox News on Monday that investigators believe they have found the source of the leaks — from within the FBI.

"They've opened up a criminal investigation, and they have promised that not only is this person going to lose their job, they’ll lose their pension; they're gonna go to jail. ... We're all over it," Homan said.

Watch:

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!