What to know about Trump's deployment of the Marines and National Guard to LA's immigration protests

Independent

a day ago

Marines and additional National Guard troops were headed to Los Angeles on Tuesday, sent in by President Donald Trump in response to protests over immigration raids despite the objections of the governor and local leaders.
The authorization came amid mostly peaceful protests in country's second-largest city on Monday.
California officials sued Trump on Monday to roll back the administration's National Guard deployment, saying the president trampled on the state's sovereignty. Local officials and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom don't want the military deployed in the city, and the police chief said it creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.
The 2,000 Guard members authorized Monday are an addition to the 2,100 the president mobilized for the protests Sunday. Trump has also deployed 700 Marines to help them.
Trump, a Republican, said in a social media post that the city would have been 'completely obliterated' if he hadn't sent Guard members.
This appears to be the first time in decades that a state's National Guard was activated without a request from its governor.
Here are some things to know about the lawsuit, the protests and the troop deployments:
State sues the president over troops
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit over the use of National Guard troops following the first deployment, telling reporters Monday that Trump had 'trampled' the state's sovereignty.
'We don't take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilizing California National Guard troops,' Bonta said. He sought a court order declaring Trump's use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment.
Bonta has said the lawsuit became necessary once Trump escalated the number of troops, leading to growing unrest.
Newsom vs. Trump
Trump and his border czar, Tom Holman, traded taunts with Newsom about the possibility of arresting the governor if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
'I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great,' Trump said.
Newsom responded in a post on X: 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.'
Newsom has called the presence of troops on the streets of Los Angeles both 'illegal and immoral.' On X, he called the decision to deploy the additional National Guard troops reckless and 'disrespectful to our troops.'
'This isn't about public safety. It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego,' said Newsom.
In a post Monday evening, Newsom called the deployment of Marines 'a blatant abuse of power' and said officials would sue to stop it.
'U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns,' Newsom posted on social media. 'The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling.'
What's the mood in Los Angeles?
A large crowd gathered Monday in a park across from City Hall to protest the arrest of prominent labor leader David Huerta, whose detainment Friday while protesting immigration raids became a rallying cry for people angry over the administration's crackdown. Huerta was later released on $50,000 bond.
Monday's demonstrations were less raucous than Sunday's, with thousands peacefully attending the rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held. The protests have been driven by anger over Trump's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are tearing apart migrant families.
Demonstrations have also been happening in other cities, including in Chicago and inside Trump Tower in Manhattan. More than a dozen were planned in all.
On Los Angeles Street, a major thoroughfare that runs through the city's downtown, the smell of fire hung as workers swept debris among the charred remnants of cars that were set ablaze during the protests. Police cars blocked streets as crews painted over graffiti scrawled on surrounding buildings.
An Australian television reporter was struck in the leg by a nonlethal round Sunday while reporting live, and a British photographer remained hospitalized Monday after undergoing surgery for a similar strike to the thigh Saturday at a protest in Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed in a news release on Monday that it used tear gas and more than 600 rubber bullets and other 'less than lethal' munitions on protesters over the weekend.
Police arrested 29 people Saturday night 'for failure to disperse' and made 21 more arrests on Sunday on charges ranging from attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail and assault on a police officer to looting. Five officers had minor injuries, police said.
Perla Rios, an indigenous community leader in Los Angeles, stood outside of Ambiance Apparel on Monday, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on Friday triggered protests. Rios urged legal representation and due process for immigrants who were detained by federal agents.
'What our families are experiencing is simply a nightmare,' Rios said.
Behind her, relatives of the detained of workers held up signs saying, 'Immigrants make America Great" and 'We want justice,' next to photos of their loved ones.
What's behind the demonstrations?
The protests were sparked by Trump's immigration crackdown in the region. They started Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount and neighboring Compton.
Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA's fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot.
Demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles by hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.
The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many have also been arrested while protesting.
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Associated Press reporters Michael Casey in Boston, Lolita Baldor in Washington, Jesse Bedayn in Denver, Jake Offenhartz in New York, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia contributed to this report.