Newsom says Trump administration will send 2,000 National Guard troops to L.A. over ICE protests
A Trump administration official said Saturday that the federal government planned to dispatch National Guard troops to Los Angeles, where widespread protests have broken out in response to a series of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.
U.S. Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations Tom Homan said on Fox News that the administration would send the National Guard to Los Angeles at some point on Saturday. President Donald Trump has not announced a mobilization of the U.S. military, but top aide Stephen Miller called the protests 'an insurrection' Saturday morning, a charge that could allow Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and send in troops.
'The move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions,' Newsom said.
The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers. That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.
LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment's notice. We are in close…
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) June 8, 2025
ICE carried out a series of arrests in Los Angeles County Friday and Saturday, sparking large protests in Los Angeles and nearby Paramount and denouncements from representatives from local and state lawmakers.
The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that ICE arrested 118 immigrants in Los Angeles this week, though it did not say how many were in the U.S. illegally.
Federal agents and Los Angeles police have also arrested dozens of protestors, including David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California. The city's congressional representatives told the Los Angeles Times that federal agents blocked them from checking on people at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where advocates said the jail has become overcrowded.
ICE, under Trump's orders to carry out a mass deportation effort throughout the country, has conducted a number of high-profile raids in California in recent weeks, targeting businesses and even immigration courts. On Wednesday, immigration advocates said ICE agents arrested at least 15 people, including children, who were checking in with immigration officials, a routine requirement for those whose immigration cases are still pending.
As ICE has ramped up its efforts, its agents have often met fierce resistance from residents and advocacy groups, with protestors in Los Angeles and San Diego confronting agents directly.
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President Donald Trump says he's deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to respond to immigration protests, over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. It's not the first time Trump has activated the National Guard to quell protests. In 2020, he asked governors of several states to send troops to Washington, D.C. to respond to demonstrations that arose after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers. Many of the governors he asked agreed, sending troops to the federal district. The governors that refused the request were allowed to do so, keeping their troops on home soil. This time, however, Trump is acting in opposition to Newsom, who under normal circumstances would retain control and command of California's National Guard. While Trump said that federalizing the troops was necessary to 'address the lawlessness' in California, the Democratic governor said the move was 'purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.' 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President Dwight Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock, Arkansas, to protect Black students integrating Central High School after that state's governor activated the National Guard to keep the students out. George H.W. Bush used the Insurrection Act to respond to riots in Los Angeles in 1992 after the acquittal of white police officers who were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King. National Guard troops have been deployed for a variety of emergencies, including the COVID pandemic, hurricanes and other natural disasters. But generally, those deployments are carried out with the agreements of the governors of the responding states. In 2020, Trump asked governors of several states to deploy their National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. to quell protests that arose after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers. Many of the governors agreed, sending troops to the federal district. 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