Explainer-Does U.S. law allow Trump to send troops to quell protests?
By Dietrich Knauth
President Donald Trump has deployed National Guard troops to California after two days of protests by hundreds of demonstrators against immigration raids, saying that the protests interfered with federal law enforcement and framing them as a possible 'form of rebellion' against the authority of the U.S. government.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday said he had formally requested that the Trump Administration rescind "its unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles County" and return them to his command.
WHAT LAWS DID TRUMP CITE TO JUSTIFY THE MOVE?
Trump cited Title 10 of the U.S. Code, a federal law that outlines the role of the U.S. Armed Forces, in his June 7 order to call members of the California National Guard into federal service.
A provision of Title 10 - Section 12406 - allows the president to deploy National Guard units into federal service if the U.S. is invaded, there is a 'rebellion or danger of rebellion' or the president is 'unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.'
WHAT ARE NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS ALLOWED TO DO UNDER THE LAW CITED IN TRUMP'S ORDER?
An 1878 law, the Posse Comitatus Act, generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement.
Section 12406 does not override that prohibition, but it allows the troops to protect federal agents who are carrying out law enforcement activity and to protect federal property.
For example, National Guard troops cannot arrest protesters, but they could protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who are carrying out arrests.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH?
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to assembly, freedom of speech and the press.
Experts have said that Trump's decision to have U.S. troops respond to protests is an ominous sign for how far the president is willing to go to repress political speech and activity that he disagrees with or that criticizes his administration's policies.
IS TRUMP'S MOVE SUSCEPTIBLE TO LEGAL CHALLENGES?
Four legal experts from both left- and right-leaning advocacy organizations have cast doubt on Trump's use of Title 10 in response to immigration protests calling it inflammatory and reckless, especially without the support of California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who has said Trump's actions would only escalate tensions.
The protests in California do not rise to the level of 'rebellion' and do not prevent the federal government from executing the laws of the United States, experts said.
Title 10 also says "orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States," but legal experts said that language might not be an obstacle. Legislative history suggests that those words were likely meant to reflect the norms of how National Guard troops are typically deployed, rather than giving a governor the option to not comply with a president's decision to deploy troops.
COULD CALIFORNIA SUE TO CHALLENGE TRUMP'S MOVE?
California could file a lawsuit, arguing that deployment of National Guard troops was not justified by Title 10 because there was no 'rebellion' or threat to law enforcement. A lawsuit might take months to resolve, and the outcome would be uncertain. Because the protests may be over before a lawsuit is resolved, the decision to sue might be more of a political question than a legal one, experts said.
WHAT OTHER LAWS COULD TRUMP INVOKE TO DIRECT THE NATIONAL GUARD OR OTHER U.S MILITARY TROOPS?
Trump could take a more far-reaching step by invoking the Insurrection Act of 1792, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement, for which there is little recent precedent.
Casting protests as an 'insurrection' that requires the deployment of troops against U.S. citizens would be riskier legal territory, one legal expert said, in part because mostly peaceful protests and minor incidents aren't the sort of thing that the Insurrection Act were designed to address.
The Insurrection Act has been used by past presidents to deploy troops within the U.S. in response to crises like the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War. The law was last invoked by President George H.W. Bush in 1992, when the governor of California requested military aid to suppress unrest in Los Angeles following the Rodney King trial.
But, the last time a president deployed the National Guard in a state without a request from that state's governor was 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson sent troops to protect civil rights demonstrators in Montgomery, Alabama.
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End ICE Raids' and 'Justice for David Huerta Now.' The rally was one of more than a dozen scheduled in cities across the U.S. to demand Huerta's release and an end to workplace immigration raids, the Los Angeles Times reported. − Bart Jansen Amid the mounting legal clash between the federal government and the state of California, Trump suggested that his border czar Tom Homan should arrest Newsom. 'I would do it … I think it's great,' Trump said when asked if Homan should arrest the governor, who has challenged the administration's mobilization of National Guard troops to crack down on violent protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles. Arresting Newsom, who responded to Homan's threat by daring the feds to arrest him in a June 8 social media post, would represent a major escalation of the state's widening rift with the Trump administration. − Davis Winkie LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell called the outbreak of violence "disgusting" and said it had grown worse Saturday. 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"Instead of allowing me to meet with community members, they jumped onto trucks in riot gear," she said. Vermeulen urged local leaders to protect the rights of working class immigrants and said ICE must be banned from entering workplaces. "Every single person who is here, who is figintg for a better life for their family, deserves to have their rights protected," she said. As South Dakota governor in February 2024, Kristi Noem threatened then-President Joe Biden when Democrats said he should federalize the National Guard in Texas to disrupt that state governor's anti-immigration efforts. If he did, Noem warned, Biden would be mounting a 'direct attack on states' rights,' and sparking a 'war' between Washington and Republican-led state governments, she said in a Feb. 6, 2024 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. On June 8, Noem − now Trump's Homeland Security secretary − cheered Trump for doing the same thing to the Democratic governor of the state of California. On CBS News' Face the Nation Sunday, Noem explained her reversal by saying, "Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions." Read more here. − Josh Meyer A California sheriff running for governor isn't pleased with former Vice President Kamala Harris' reaction to the explosive protests. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a June 8 post on X that Trump is "not out there lighting cars on fire, hurling projectiles at law enforcement or blocking freeways.' The sheriff, whose county is just north of San Diego and the fourth-most populous county in the state, was responding to Harris' earlier statement where she said the deployment of the National Guard was "meant to provoke chaos.' Harris, who is mulling a bid for California governor next year, put much of the blame on the Trump administration's ICE raids and a "cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division." Bianco, who is also running for governor in 2026, is a long-standing Trump supporter who gained a bit of attention in 2021 for vowing not to enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandates in his office. He said Sunday the former VP's comments were 'an embarrassment." 'The Democrats and their 'leaders' own this,' Bianco added. − Phillip M. Bailey Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump, criticized his administration's recent immigration enforcement actions as 'unacceptable and inhumane' in a post on X. Her remarks come as federal agents have arrested immigrants in courthouses across the U.S., including Florida, stripping them of due process protections, as NBC News reported. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings − in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims − all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,' she wrote in her post, referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. She said she stands with Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who wrote in a statement June 6 that 'anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.' − Sudiksha Kochi Trump border czar Tom Homan on Monday denied ever calling for the arrest of Newsom. Homan told Fox News that he was asked if Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could be arrested and Homan responded that, if they commit a crime, they could be arrested. 'There was no discussion about arresting Newsom,' Homan said. Newsom had addressed the issue on social media, saying that "Trump's border czar is threatening to arrest me for speaking out. Come and get me, tough guy. I don't give a damn. It won't stop me from standing up for California." At 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, authorities declared the protest to be an unlawful assembly and moved in aggressively with flash-bangs and tear gas grenades. That sent hundreds of people running, their eyes streaming with tears. Helicopters clattered overhead as protesters fled the area to the honking of car horns and periodic cheers. According to preliminary information, police said at least 10 people have been arrested and three officers were injured during protests on Sunday. California Highway Patrol arrested 17 people on the 101 Freeway, police said. On Saturday, police arrested 29 people. The protests began Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in the area resulted in more than 40 arrests. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, defended the raids and said those arrested by ICE included a Vietnamese man convicted of second-degree murder, an Ecuadoran man convicted of possession of five kilograms of cocaine, and a Filipino man convicted of sexual offenses. "These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets," McLaughlin said in a statement. "Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer." Protests against immigration enforcement policies were not limited to the Los Angeles area. In San Francisco, a demonstration that drew hundreds ended with violence and about 60 arrests, police said. "Individuals in the group became violent and began to commit crimes ranging from assault to felony vandalism and causing property damage," San Francisco police said in a statement. An unlawful assembly was declared and many left the scene while others vandalized buildings and police cars. Two officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries. "Individuals are always free to exercise their First Amendment rights in San Francisco but violence especially against SFPD officers - will never be tolerated," the statement said. Videos show Waymo cars on fire amid LA protests; service reportedly suspended Photos and videos show several Waymo self-driving cars being torched during the protests. The LAPD said one street had been closed indefinitely after "multiple autonomous vehicles" had been set on fire. Footage shared on social media captured several of Waymo driverless taxis engulfed in flames in the June 8 protests. Others were vandalized with messages against Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, videos show. Waymo suspended service in downtown Los Angeles and "will not be serving any rides in the protest area until it is deemed safe," a company spokesperson told NBC News. − Melina Khan This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marines heading to LA; Newsom says move is Trump's 'deranged fantasy'
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Derek Guy, a fashion writer more commonly known as 'the Menswear Guy' on X, posted Monday about his experience as an undocumented immigrant brought to the U.S. as a child. Far-right extremists quickly called for Guy to be deported, something that's not entirely unexpected on a social media platform that's turned into an even greater cesspool of hate ever since Elon Musk bought it. What turned out to be somewhat unexpected was the vice president of the United States and the Department of Homeland Security posting gifs to suggest they might really deport him. It all started on Saturday, June 7, when Guy tweeted that while he admired the courage of protesters against ICE, he thought violent protests were counterproductive. Some folks on X and Bluesky thought Guy was lecturing people who were putting their bodies on the line in resistance to ICE round-ups in Los Angeles, stirring some criticism. The following day, Guy seemed compelled to talk about his own experience with immigration, writing on X, 'My family escaped Vietnam after the Tet Offensive and went through an arduous journey that eventually landed them in the Canada. My father worked there for a time as a janitor; my mother, a secretary.' Guy went on to explain that when work fell through in Canada his father went to the U.S. 'as our family needed money' and he ended up 'staying longer than he was supposed to.' Guy writes that he was carried over the U.S.-Canada border by his mother while he was still a baby. 'I'm still unsure whether we technically broke an immigration law,' Guy wrote. 'The border between Canada and the United States was pretty porous (as it is today, for the most part). But either way, since I came here without legal documentation, I eventually fell into the category of being an undocumented immigrant. Yet, I've been in the United States since I was a baby. My identity and roots are very much based in this country, no different from anyone else.' I debated whether to share my story on here, but I guess I will. I think there's an idea out there that millions of violent criminals are pouring across the border, carrying machetes and drugs, looking to harm Americans. Certainly, while some people fall into that category, the… — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 8, 2025 Guy went on to explain (in a very lengthy post) that most immigrants simply aren't violent criminals and that 'sending us 'back' to our 'home' country would mean sending someone to a foreign land.' But the admission that Guy may be undocumented in the U.S. led to various X accounts calling for him to get kicked out of the country. An account called @growing_daniel wrote, 'JD Vance I know you're reading this and you have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever,' in a quote-tweet about Guy's immigration status. Vance replied with a GIF of actor Jack Nicholson vigorously nodding his head. Guy got a good burn in on the vice president, quote-tweeting Vance with 'i think i can outrun you in these clothes.' Guy frequently critiques the fashion choices of conservative men, something that really seems to irk many of his followers, given the fact that they rely on him for advice on clothes. Guy has previously made fun of Vance's pants for being too short and skinny. i think i can outrun you in these clothes — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 9, 2025 As if it wasn't bad enough that Vance was suggesting he might try to get Guy deported, the Department of Homeland Security posted a GIF from the movie Spy Kids, quote-tweeting a call for him to be deported. The suggestion being that they had their eyes on him. Far-right influencer Andy Ngo expressed skepticism of Guy's story about his family fleeing Vietnam, claiming he could be lying since he didn't publish his story in 'a publication that goes through some level of independent verification.' The ironic part of that, of course, is that Ngo constantly posts garbage on X without any kind of 'independent verification' as he puts it. Musk and his legion of far-right fans are so fond of saying the traditional media are dead and that you don't hate the mainstream journalists enough. But when someone tells their own story, they're quick to want some kind of verification from the same old-school media they whine about. Guy didn't respond to an email sent Monday afternoon but shared an article from HuffPost on Monday about the attention, writing, 'honestly, didn't expect this is what would happen when i joined a menswear forum 15 years ago.' I shared my story because I think the narrative about undocumented immigrants has become very slanted in order to justify crackdowns. It doesn't help when people think that all undocumented immigrants are criminals who hate the US. The ones I know are good, hardworking people. — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 9, 2025 The average undocumented immigrant is pretty similar to the average citizen: they dream of getting a better job, they value family, they enjoy social time with friends,' Guy wrote. 'Like most people, they have wishy washy political views and aren't ideologues. They hide from view for obvious reasons. And thus, their part of this story isn't being told.' 'What you see on TV or social media is a slice designed to justify draconian policies,' he concluded.
