The Trump administration said 2,000 National Guards will be sent to Los Angeles after two days of isolated clashes between federal immigration agents and protesters.
Officials said the guards will assist in actions related to Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. Many problems are still unsolved, but here is what we know:
When will the troops arrive?
Officials said the troops arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday night, although it is not clear when 2,000 personnel will be in place.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X that the guard is “deployed immediately to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles.
What will the National Guard do?
Tom Homan, the Trump administration's “Border Tsar” said on Fox News that officials are trying to “resolve the violence and destruction near the raid sites where protesters gather. … American people, it's about enforcing the law and we will never apologize for it again.”
They may provide backups in future immigration attacks and prove that certain federal facilities are protected, including the detention center in downtown Los Angeles, were the scene of protests and some vandalism.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom SID Local law enforcement has been mobilized and dispatching troops is a “purposely inflammatory” move that will only “escalate tensions.”
“[T]This is currently no unmet need,” Newsom said.
Any legal issues?
In a memo to the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, Trump said he was summoning the National Guard to the federal government under a rule called 10 to “temporarily protect ICE and other U.S. government personnel who perform federal functions.”
Title 10 provides the federal service force that activates the National Guard. This Title 10 command can be used to deploy National Guard members in the United States or outside the country.
What did the experts say?
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, said in a text that Trump's power under the 1807 Insurgency Act made the state's National Guard forces suppress “any insurgency, domestic violence, illegal union or conspiracy,” thereby weakening the enforcement of the law. ”
Did this happen before?
Yes, the National Guard has been deployed to Los Angeles in civil unrest and natural disasters.
When the National Guard was previously sent to Los Angeles, it was because California asked it and coordinated the response, Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School.
- In 2020, the George Floyd murder prompted Mayor Eric Garcetti to seek National Guard troops from Newsom. Gassetti asked for 1,000 soldiers. Guardian M-4 rifles can be seen patrolling the streets between Skid Row and Bunker Hill. In combat gear, they stood outside broken shops and graffiti-labeled buildings, with windows shattered and garbage scattered on the streets. Hummers and military trucks appeared in the city.
- In 1994, the guards were brought in after 6.7 earthquakes left over more than 1,000 buildings and 20,000 homeless buildings. The convoy rumbled in the San Fernando Valley, patrolling mini cabins and parks to supply water, block robbers, direct traffic, direct traffic, and raised tentpai cities for 6,000 displaced residents.
- In 1992, after the Rodney King trial, thousands of National Guards and U.S. troops patrolled Los Angeles during the riots. When LAPD was unable to calm the unrest, Mayor Tom Bradley asked for help.
- In 1965, 13,000 soldiers were sent to Los Angeles during the Watt riot.
