What to know about Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to LA protests
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he plans to sue the Trump administration to roll back the National Guard deployment, which he calls “illegal and immoral.”
U.S. officials said about 1,000 National Guard members were in the city under federal orders by midday Monday to respond to immigration protests. The full 2,000 members authorized by President Donald Trump were expected to be on the ground by the end of the day. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of military operations.
“Rescind the order. Return control to California,” Newsom demanded in a post Sunday on the social media platform X.
Trump said sending National Guard to Los Angeles was a “great decision.” In a post on his social media site, he said the city would have been “completely obliterated” otherwise.
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 expected lawsuit, the protests and the guard’s deployment.
What’s the mood in Los Angeles?
The streets were quiet in the sprawling city of 4 million early Monday. The smell of fire hung in the air and a series of ash piles littered Los Angeles Street with the charred remnants of cars set afire during protests over immigration. Police cars blocked streets, and workers swept up debris. Crews painted over graffiti that covered downtown buildings.
More demonstrations were expected as the Trump Administration vowed to keep up the presence of troops to maintain order and Gov. Newsom threatened to sue to block the federal takeover of the state’s National Guard.
Perla Rios, an indigenous community leader in Los Angeles, stood outside of Ambiance Apparel on Monday, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids had set off days of tense protests. Rios urged legal representation and due process for immigrants who were detained by federal agents.
The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader who was accused of impeding law enforcement.
“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 are officials in California and Washington saying?
Gov. Newsom, in a post on X on Monday, warned that Trump could activate the National Guard in other states unless he is challenged.
“This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard,” Newsom, a Democrat, wrote in the post.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, speaking on CNN, said she was concerned that more federal immigration raids will spark “pandemonium.” She said protesters are prepared to respond quickly if they see ICE in action.
“It’s just a recipe for pandemonium that is completely unnecessary,” Bass said.
ICE officials, in a statement, said they are working to enforce immigration laws and remove immigrants with criminal convictions from local communities. And they said they stand ready to arrest protesters who break the law.
Trump border czar Tom Holman called Newsom “late to the game” in responding to the demonstrations.
Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington, elaborated on the situation.
“I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent,” Trump said. “The people that are causing these problems are professional agitators, they’re insurrectionists, they’re bad people. They should be in jail.”