LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles and other major cities across the nation are girding for widespread demonstrations against the Trump administration Saturday as the federal government expands its aggressive immigration enforcement crackdown beyond Southern California.

In Washington D.C., the U.S. Army will celebrate 250 years of service, as well as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, with an unprecedented military parade in the nation’s capital. In response, many around the country will be gathering for “No Kings” demonstrations to voice their opposition to the Trump administration’s policies.

At least a dozen different groups are planning to protest in the Los Angeles area Saturday, following eight consecutive days of downtown demonstrations that have condemned federal operations aimed at chasing down and capturing unauthorized immigrants at their jobs and on city streets.

The protests were organized by Indivisible, the American Civil Liberties Union and 50501. Some of the groups organized the “Hands Off!” protests in April, which criticized the Trump administration’s policies on Social Security, healthcare and education.

The coalition behind “No Kings” has branded Saturday as a “day of defiance” against what the groups describe as authoritarian overreach by Trump and his allies. Plans for the event were in the works well before federal immigration raids set off protests in Los Angeles and other cities.

The main “No Kings” events will take place in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago and Charlotte, N.C., but there will also be demonstrations in other cities.

According to government officials, there are hundreds of Marines and National Guard troops in the area who will defend federal properties and immigrant enforcement operations. The federalized troops arrived in the area earlier in the week, after protests turned violent and left Waymo autonomous cars burning and downtown properties smashed and covered with anti-Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement graffiti.

Trump directly addressed the protests for the first time on Thursday, saying to his allies at the White House, “I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get things approved.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that Trump “absolutely supports peaceful protests. He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard.”

On Thursday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals paused a court order that would have required Trump to return control of California National Guard troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The move came after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco ruled that Trump broke the law when he mobilized thousands of National Guard members during protests over immigration raids, and must return the troops to state control by noon Friday.

“We push back against these authoritarian tendencies of a president that has pushed the boundaries, pushed the limit, but no longer can push this state around any longer,” Newsom said during a news conference before the appeals court decision.

On Friday morning, MacArthur Park, a longtime immigrant hub west of downtown, was noticeably quieter than usual.

Gone were many of the vendors who once lined South Alvarado Street at all times of day, selling everything from baby formula to Lionel Messi jerseys. Many of those who weren’t displaced when the city erected fencing after a shooting earlier this year suddenly disappeared after the ICE raids started, according to Cristina Serrano, a 37-year-old Rampart Village resident.

“There’s like sadness, maybe grief. I think a lot of fear is going around these communities ... people are walking around just very cautious,” Serrano said at Panda Boxing Gym, near the corner of Westlake Avenue and 8th Street.

The Mexican restaurant next door abruptly closed its doors for two days, without explanation, she said.

“I don’t know if they were just scared of looters or if there was gonna be a situation that’s going on with ICE and deputies and police activity here,” she added.

Even though she is a citizen by birth, Serrano has taken to carrying a copy of her birth certificate with her everywhere she goes as a precaution.

“I don’t know who they want to stop, who they’re targeting, to be honest, because they’re targeting people that look like me,” she said. “I’m just also ... keeping a lawyer on speed dial just in case — not just for myself, but for my community.”

Tensions between federal immigration officials and California politicians reached new heights Thursday when Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference where Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking.

Addressing reporters after the news conference, Padilla called upon people to peacefully protest the Trump administration’s actions.

“There is a lot of concern, there is a lot of tension, there is a lot of anxiety,” Padilla said. “I encourage everybody to please peacefully protest, just like I was calmly and peacefully listening to that press conference and preparing, attempting to ask a question.”

The raids have targeted Home Depots, churches, farms, retail centers and other locations. They have also stoked concerns among local officials that the operations are forcing immigrants to hide and will ultimately hurt the local economy.

As immigration actions continue, Los Angeles Police Department officials have reported increasing success in quelling violence and property damage in the city’s core, thanks in part to an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew imposed this week.

The curfew, which has been imposed indefinitely, encompasses the downtown Civic Center, including City Hall, the main county criminal courthouse, LAPD headquarters and federal buildings.

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Times staff writers Nathan Solis, Andrea Castillo, Laura J. Nelson, Marie Sanford and Richard Winton contributed to this report.

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