700 Marines arrive in L.A. area amid ICE protests as Newsom files suit to block deployment

CBS News

2 days ago

Washington — About 700 active-duty Marines have arrived in the Los Angeles area to join National Guard troops who were sent to the city to respond to protests over federal immigration enforcement, a defense official said Tuesday morning, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked a federal court to block the deployment of troops onto city streets.
The Marines join approximately 2,100 members of the California National Guard who are now on location in the greater L.A. area, operating in Los Angeles, Paramount and Compton. A top Pentagon official testified to Congress that the estimated cost of deploying the National Guard and the Marines is roughly $134 million.
In a 28-page filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Thursday afternoon, California Attorney General Rob Bonta asked a federal judge for a temporary restraining order to "prevent the use of federalized National Guard and active duty Marines for law enforcement purposes on the streets of a civilian city."
"Federal antagonization, through the presence of soldiers in the streets, has already caused real and irreparable damage to the City of Los Angeles, the people who live there, and the State of California," the filing said. "They must be stopped, immediately."
Notably, the filing says the state "does not seek to prevent any of those forces from protecting the safety of federal buildings or other real property owned or leased by the federal government, or federal personnel on such property," but instead "seeks narrow relief tailored to avoid irreparable harm to our communities and the rule of law that is likely to result" if Marines and the National Guard are used for immigration and law enforcement.
The U.S. Northern Command said in a statement Monday evening that Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division had been activated to prepare for the deployment. The Marines are based in Twentynine Palms, a city east of Los Angeles.
Northern Command said the Marines would "seamlessly integrate" with hundreds of members of the National Guard to protect "federal personnel and federal property." They have been trained in "de-escalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force," the military added.
A U.S. military official said the Marines are at a staging area in the greater L.A. area awaiting specific instructions. Appearing before the Armed Services Committee, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith referred specific questions to Northern Command but said the Marines who have been deployed have received crowd-control training and have equipment like shields and batons. He said the Marines "don't have arrest authority" and are there "to protect federal property and federal personnel."
Under federal law, active-duty military cannot be used for domestic law enforcement purposes without the president invoking what's known as the Insurrection Act, a step President Trump has not taken. Asked about whether he would invoke the law on Tuesday, Mr. Trump responded, "If there's an insurrection I would certainly invoke it. We'll see."
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Monday that around 700 Marines "are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order." Hegseth said the Marines were being deployed from Camp Pendleton, south of Los Angeles.
The defense chief was appearing before lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, telling a House committee that "we believe ICE agents should be allowed to be safe in doing their operations and we have deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties because we ought be able to enforce immigration law in this country."
Newsom suggested late Monday he would take legal action over the planned use of Marines, calling it illegal.
In a post on X, he wrote, "U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns. The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend. It's a blatant abuse of power. We will sue to stop this. The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling. This is a red line — and they're crossing it. WAKE UP!"
A demonstrator holds an upside-down U.S. flag as California National Guard members stand guard outside the Federal Building during a protest in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025.
RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDowell said in a statement that the agency has decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstration and can handle the protests.
"The arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles — absent clear coordination — presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city," he said in response to the possible deployment of Marines, adding that there needs to be open communication between all agencies to prevent confusion and avoid escalation.
The military said Monday it was mobilizing another 2,000 members of the California National Guard to respond to the protests.
Mr. Trump deployed National Guard troops to downtown Los Angeles over the weekend to respond to tense protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests. The Trump administration argues the deployment is necessary to protect federal property and ICE agents from violence. Mr. Trump has accused local leaders of not doing enough to deal with violent clashes at the protests.
Newsom opposed the deployment, and the state of California is already suing the Trump administration over what it argues is an illegal federalization of the National Guard. Some local officials have argued the deployment could aggravate an already caustic situation in downtown Los Angeles, and say state and local police agencies can handle the protests themselves.
"We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved," Newsom posted on X Monday.
contributed to this report.