Trial starts over Trump administration's deployment of National Guard to Los Angeles

Boston Globe

4 days ago

Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
On Monday, Trump said he was
Advertisement
The trial in San Francisco could set a precedent for how Trump can deploy the guard in the future in California or other states.
The Trump administration federalized California National Guard members and sent them to the second-largest US city over the objections of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and city leaders after
Advertisement
The Department of Defense ordered the deployment of roughly 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles. Most of the troops have since left, but
California is asking Judge Charles Breyer to order the Trump administration to return control of the remaining troops to the state and to stop the federal government from using military troops in California 'to execute or assist in the execution of federal law or any civilian law enforcement functions by any federal agent or officer.'
Newsom won an early victory from Breyer, who found the Trump administration violated the Constitution's 10th Amendment, which defines power between federal and state governments, and exceeded its authority.
The Trump administration immediately appealed, arguing that courts can't second-guess the president's decisions. It
After their deployment, the guard members accompanied federal immigration officers on raids in Los Angeles and at two marijuana farm sites in Ventura County while
Since June, federal agents have rounded up
Trump federalized members of the California National Guard under a law that allows the president to call the National Guard into federal service when the country 'is invaded,' when 'there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government,' or when the president is otherwise unable 'to execute the laws of the United States.'
Advertisement
Breyer found the protests in Los Angeles 'fall far short of 'rebellion.''
Ernesto Santacruz Jr., the field office director for the Department of Homeland Security in Los Angeles, said in court documents that the troops were needed because local law enforcement was slow to respond when a crowd gathered outside the federal building to protest the June 7 immigration arrests.
'The presence of the National Guard and Marines has played an essential role in protecting federal property and personnel from the violent mobs,' Santacruz said.