National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles on Sunday under orders from President Donald Trump, escalating a showdown with California leaders who say the federal deployment is politically driven and unnecessary.
The move follows two days of tense protests sparked by sweeping US immigration raids across the region. Trump directed US Northern Command to assume control of the California National Guard and dispatch 2,000 soldiers to the area “for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense,” the White House said in a statement.
Governor Gavin Newsom, who said he was not consulted on the decision, condemned the deployment as an overreach by Trump meant to stoke tensions. “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate,” the Democrat wrote in a post on X. “That is not the way any civilized country behaves.”
The troops, from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, were seen arriving at a federal building in downtown LA early Sunday, according to footage aired by KABC. US Northern Command confirmed the deployment on X, saying it was mobilizing Guard units “to support federal law enforcement.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Marines could be sent next if protests intensify. Newsom called Hegseth’s suggestion of deploying the Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton “deranged.”
Hegseth on Sunday countered that Newsom had allowed violence to get out of hand.
“Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE.”
ICE has pledged to continue ramping up arrests as authorities carry out Trump’s promise to oversee the largest deportation effort in US history. The president has also threatened to cut off federal funding to California after disputes over immigration, transgender issues and allegations of antisemitism on college campuses.
The LA Police Department closed streets and a metro station late Saturday after clashes near a detention center where people apprehended by federal and local authorities were detained. The site is near the building where the National Guard troops were seen arriving in trucks.
“All the people approaching the Metropolitan Detention Center on foot or in a vehicle are subject to arrest,” the LD said on X late Saturday. “Leave the area!!”
More than 1,000 protesters surrounded a federal building in downtown LA on Friday, and additional demonstrations broke out Saturday in Compton and Paramount, south of the city. Local media reported tear gas and flash-bang grenades deployed to disperse the crowds. Immigration advocates have been holding regular peaceful protests in downtown LA against Trump’s enforcement crackdown, with one planned for Sunday at 2 p.m. local time.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump border czar Tom Homan defended the National Guard deployment, saying Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass should be thanking the president for helping to restore order. Homan warned the leaders could face arrest if they obstruct immigration enforcement efforts.
The White House said the National Guard was being deployed to protect federal personnel and property, including immigration detention centers, citing what Trump described as credible threats of violence that could obstruct enforcement efforts and “constitute a form of rebellion” against the US government.
But the legal basis for the decision could face challenges. Federal law strictly limits the deployment of federal troops within US borders.
The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, along with amendments and supporting regulations, generally bars the use of the active-duty U.S. military — the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines — from carrying out domestic law enforcement. The law doesn’t apply to state-controlled National Guard forces.
With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
