Three Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) field offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City have temporarily closed their doors in the face of violence stemming from anti-ICE riots and protests, HUD confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

The temporary closures due to the violence come just weeks after Democrats such as California Rep. Maxine Waters and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib claimed HUD field offices would permanently close due to Department of Government Efficiency efforts, with Waters saying such closures would affect «families and communities across the country who rely on HUD for housing assistance, community and economic development projects.» 

HUD Secretary Scott Turner exclusively told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that liberals’ claims in recent weeks that HUD would shutter field offices were «fake news» while lambasting Democrats for «encouraging riots» that have caused the three offices to temporarily shutter. 

«The left and legacy media spread fake news over false reports that HUD is closing field offices,» Turner told Fox News Digital Tuesday. «Now they’re encouraging riots that have actually forced at least three field offices to temporarily close.»

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«Democrat-run blue states like California are suffering from failed leadership, resulting in record homelessness, unchecked illegal alien crime and, as we’re seeing now on full display, pandemonium, chaos and destruction,» he added. «The American people deserve better. HUD will continue to serve communities in the face of this reckless violence while prioritizing safety and security.»

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Now, three field offices are temporarily closed as riots and protests spiral in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. Los Angeles has seen widespread riots since Friday, when federal law enforcement officials converged on the city to conduct immigration raids as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign vow to deport the millions of illegal immigrants who crossed the border under the Biden administration.

Other anti-ICE protests have broken out in New York City and San Francisco since the L.A. riots began, which have led to dozens of arrests. 

Fox News Digital obtained more than a dozen images showing graffiti strewn across a federal building in downtown L.A., which is home to a HUD field office. HUD’s satellite office is located just blocks from City Hall, where some of the violent riots have unfolded.

Media outlets earlier in 2025 ran headlines that the Trump administration had plans to shutter dozens of HUD field offices across the country, which was reported as a potential violation of federal law as HUD must be represented in each state. Turner said on X on Tuesday that his department «hasn’t closed a single field office.» 

Waters led a group of Democrat lawmakers and anti-DOGE protesters in March in an attempt to enter HUD headquarters and hand-deliver a protest letter to Turner that demanded «answers on efforts to decimate federal housing programs.»

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., recently said HUD would close its field offices. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Waters, and a handful of other House Democrats, were permitted to enter HUD headquarters, while the California Democrat warned they would «stay all night» until they met with Turner, Breitbart News exclusively reported in March. HUD staffers informed the group they would deliver the letter to Turner, while Waters protested for a meeting with the HUD secretary.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., helped hand-deliver a protest letter to HUD. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Tlaib also attempted to take part in the gaggle of lawmakers demanding to meet with Turner, but was seen stopped at HUD’s entrance in video footage. Tlaib was heard shouting,»You don’t give a sh–!» at HUD employees as the group of lawmakers and DOGE protesters ultimately left the building without meeting with Turner. 

A month after the HUD trip, Waters sent a letter in April to the Government Accountability Office’s comptroller and HUD’s acting inspector general calling for an investigation into allegations «the Administration plans to shut down local field offices and terminate housing agency staff.»

«I am concerned about what effects this will have on families and communities across the country who rely on HUD for housing assistance, community and economic development projects, as well as enforcement of federal fair housing and civil rights laws,» Waters wrote in the letter.

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«Employees across approximately 54 field offices have localized expertise and work in communities to carry out face-to-face technical assistance, provide timely guidance to local grantees and officials to help speed up project timelines, and manage oversight and enforcement of federal statutes in each region,» she continued. «The Trump Administration’s proposal to close 34 field offices would severely disrupt federal housing programs, stall local development projects, and threaten the jobs of approximately 360 full-time employees.» 

Burned-out Waymo cars line a street in downtown Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Rioters set the vehicles ablaze the previous night. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Fox News Digital reached out to Waters’ and Tlaib’s respective offices inquiring whether they are still concerned about HUD office closures due to violence in the left-wing cities, but did not immediately receive responses. 

Riots broke out in L.A. on Friday evening after federal law enforcement officials converged on the city to carry out immigration raids. Local leaders such as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly denounced the raids in public statements while offering words of support for illegal immigrants in the state.

Protests over the raids soon devolved into violence as rioters targeted federal law enforcement officials, including launching rocks at officials, with videos showing people looting local stores, setting cars on fire and taking over a freeway. 

A woman waves a Mexican flag during a protest in Paramount, Calif., on June 7, 2025. (Eric Thayer/Associated Press)

Trump announced on Saturday that he was deploying 2,000 National Guard members to help quell the violence, and the administration deployed hundreds of Marines to respond to anti-immigration chaos on Monday evening as the violence continued. 

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«If I didn’t ‘SEND IN THE TROOPS’ to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now,» Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday morning.

Desde que Donald Trump fue elegido de nuevo, he temido un escenario por encima de todos: que llamara al ejército contra quienes protestaban por sus deportaciones masivas, poniendo a Estados Unidos camino a la ley marcial. Sin embargo, incluso en mis imaginaciones más extravagantes, pensé que necesitaría un pretexto más convincente para desplegar tropas en las calles de una ciudad estadounidense —en contra de la voluntad de su alcalde y gobernador— que las protestas relativamente pequeñas que estallaron en Los Ángeles la semana pasada.

En un entorno posrealista, resulta que el presidente no necesitó esperar una crisis para lanzar una represión autoritaria. En cambio, puede simplemente inventarla.

Es cierto que algunos de los que protestan contra las redadas del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) en Los Ángeles han sido violentos; el domingo, un hombre fue arrestado por presuntamente lanzar un cóctel molotov a un agente de policía, y otro fue acusado de conducir una motocicleta contra una fila de policías. Dicha violencia debe ser condenada tanto por ser inmoral como por ser tremendamente contraproducente. Cada Waymo quemado o tienda destrozada es un regalo en especie para la administración.

Pero la idea de que Trump necesitaba desplegar soldados en las calles de la ciudad porque los disturbios se estaban descontrolando es pura fantasía.

«Hoy, las manifestaciones en toda la ciudad de Los Ángeles se mantuvieron pacíficas, y felicitamos a todos aquellos que ejercieron sus derechos bajo la Primera Enmienda con responsabilidad», declaró el Departamento de Policía de Los Ángeles el sábado por la noche. Ese mismo día, Trump anuló la decisión del gobernador Gavin Newsom y federalizó la Guardia Nacional de California, amparándose en una ley poco utilizada destinada a lidiar con «la rebelión o el peligro de rebelión contra la autoridad del gobierno de Estados Unidos».

Luego, el lunes, con miles de efectivos de la Guardia Nacional desplegados en la ciudad, el gobierno anunció el envío de 700 marines. La policía de Los Ángeles no parece querer a los marines allí; en un comunicado, el jefe de policía Jim McDonnell declaró: «La llegada de fuerzas militares federales a Los Ángeles, en ausencia de una coordinación clara, representa un importante desafío logístico y operativo para quienes estamos encargados de salvaguardar esta ciudad». Pero para Trump, salvaguardar la ciudad nunca fue el objetivo.

Es importante comprender que, para este gobierno, las protestas no necesitan ser violentas para ser consideradas un levantamiento ilegítimo. El memorando presidencial que llama a la Guardia Nacional se refiere tanto a actos violentos como a cualquier protesta que «inhiba» la aplicación de la ley.

Esta definición parece incluir las manifestaciones pacíficas en torno al lugar de las redadas del ICE. En mayo, por ejemplo, agentes federales armados irrumpieron en dos populares restaurantes italianos en San Diego en busca de trabajadores que se encontraban sin permiso en el país; esposaron a los empleados y detuvieron a cuatro personas. Mientras lo hacían, una multitud indignada se congregó afuera, coreando «¡vergüenza!» e impidiendo la salida de los agentes durante un tiempo. Bajo la orden de Trump, el ejército podría identificar a estas personas como insurrectos.

El gobierno, después de todo, tiene todas las razones para querer intimidar a quienes pudieran participar en la desobediencia civil. Las protestas violentas le hacen el juego; las pacíficas amenazan la narrativa absurda que intenta imponer a Estados Unidos.

Basta con mirar hasta qué punto se está silenciando a David Huerta, presidente del Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicios de California. La semana pasada, Huerta fue arrestado tras sentarse en una acera y bloquear una puerta mientras protestaba contra una redada de inmigración en un centro de trabajo en Los Ángeles. Mientras estaba detenido, fue derribado al suelo, lo que provocó su hospitalización.

El lunes, el Departamento de Justicia lo acusó de «conspiración para obstaculizar a un oficial», un delito grave que conlleva una pena máxima de seis años de prisión.

Trump también exigió el lunes el arresto de Newsom. Si viéramos todo esto en cualquier otro país —soldados enviados para reprimir la disidencia, líderes sindicales arrestados, políticos de la oposición amenazados—, sería evidente que la autocracia ha llegado. La pregunta ahora es si los estadounidenses que odian la tiranía podrán reaccionar.

Muchos han especulado que la confrontación en Los Ángeles le hará el juego a Trump, permitiéndole presentarse como un defensor de la ley y el orden que somete a las bandas criminales. Quizás tengan razón; Trump es un maestro de la demagogia con un don para crear las escenas de conflicto que sus partidarios anhelan. Ahora sabemos que el Dr. Phil (n. de la r.: personalidad televisiva de Estados Unidos) estuvo sobre el terreno con el ICE durante las redadas que desencadenaron los disturbios en Los Ángeles, grabando un especial en horario de máxima audiencia. La administración parecía querer un espectáculo.

Sin embargo, la opinión pública no es inamovible, por lo que es importante que todos los que tienen una plataforma —políticos, veteranos, líderes culturales y religiosos— denuncien los excesos autoritarios de la administración.

Funcionarios de la administración como Stephen Miller promueven la idea de que Los Ángeles es «territorio ocupado», como lo demuestran las banderas extranjeras que portan algunos manifestantes. Los estadounidenses que aún albergan esperanzas democráticas deberían decir, tan alto y con tanta frecuencia como puedan, que esta es una mentira insultantemente estúpida para justificar una toma de poder dictatorial. Quizás resulte que la verdad no sea rival para la propaganda de la derecha, pero si ese es el caso, ya estábamos perdidos.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he has crafted a plan in the event the Trump administration arrests him after he and President Donald Trump went head-to-head over the handling of the immigration protests in Los Angeles. 

Newsom said he and his team have «processed» what it would mean for him if the Trump administration secured a federal warrant for his arrest, Newsom said in an interview with the «Pod Save America» podcast hosted by former Obama administration officials that aired Monday night. 

«What’s so absurd about that question is I’ve actually thought about it,» Newsom said when asked about preparations in the event authorities take him into custody. 

«The fact that we are even having that conversation with our folks, and have had that conversation with our folks in the United States in 2025, I mean, it says everything you need to know about who’s in the White House right now,» Newsom said. 

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Newsom also addressed the arrest threats in an interview with The Washington Post published Tuesday, signaling that the relationship between the two had reached a point beyond repair. 

«He just threatened my arrest. One would assume, or presume, that’s the point of no return,» Newsom told The Washington Post. «I’m constitutionally capable of working with people, even those that call for my arrest. So, I remain resolved in that respect, as I remain resolved to have the backs of kids whose lives are being threatened by his authoritarian tendencies.»

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, first suggested in an interview with NBC News Saturday that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could face arrest if they hamper any federal efforts to deport illegal immigrants. 

In response, Newsom appeared to taunt Homan to take him into custody. 

«He’s a tough guy. Why doesn’t he do that? He knows where to find me,» Newsom told MSNBC News Sunday. «That kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let’s go.»

When asked about threats to arrest Newsom, Trump told reporters Monday that Newsom’s primary crime «is running for governor because he’s done such a bad job,» adding he would arrest Newsom if he were Homan. 

Newsom voiced disappointment in response to Trump’s remarks and cautioned the threats amounted to a step toward authoritarianism. 

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U.S. border czar Tom Homan responded to the ICE riots in LA during a recent appearance on MSNBC. (Getty Images)

«The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,» Newsom said Monday in a post on X. «This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.»

Meanwhile, Homan appeared to soften his original statement, saying an arrest would only happen if a crime were committed by Newsom and Bass. 

«Well, that whole thing’s been taken out of context,» Homan said. «They haven’t crossed a line yet, but like any other U.S. citizen, if you cross that line, I don’t care who they are. The governor, the mayor, whatever — when you commit a crime against ICE officers, we will seek prosecution.»

Newsom, who was first elected governor in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022, has drawn the ire of Trump for how he’s handled multiple issues in his state, including the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles in January.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump meet in January during the wildfires in Los Angeles.  (Pool)

The two have sparred over Trump’s decision to deploy thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to California after protests launched Friday in response to recent arrests in the city by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

While Trump has argued the National Guard troops are necessary to prevent destruction in Los Angeles, Newsom has said the deployment violated California’s state sovereignty. State governors usually oversee National Guard troops, but Trump invoked a law to place the troops under federal command so he could circumvent Newsom. 

On Monday, Newsom said most of the troops «are sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders.» 

«This isn’t about public safety,» Newsom said in a Monday post on X. «It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego.»

The Associated Press contributed to this report.