LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON — The US military will temporarily deploy about 700 Marines to Los Angeles until more National Guard troops can arrive, marking another escalation in President Donald Trump's response to street protests over his aggressive immigration policies.
Monday (June 9) was the fourth straight day of protests in Los Angeles, with hundreds of demonstrators gathering outside a federal detention centre where immigrants have been held.
The US military said a battalion would be sent to help protect federal property and personnel until more National Guard troops could reach the scene. For now, the Trump administration was not invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement, according to a US official speaking on condition of anonymity.
California sued the Trump administration to block deployment of the National Guard and the Marines on Monday, arguing that it violates federal law and state sovereignty. Shortly after, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he had been told that Trump is deploying another 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, after Trump on Saturday said he would deploy an initial 2,000 troops.
Tensions have been rising since Trump activated the National Guard on Saturday after street protests erupted in response to immigration raids in Southern California. It is the biggest flashpoint yet in the Trump administration's aggressive efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally.
Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell said his department had not received any formal notification that the Marines would arrive in the city. The deployment "presents a significant logistical and operational challenge," he said.
Trump said on Monday he felt he had no choice but to order the deployment to prevent violence from spiraling out of control.
The protests so far have resulted in some property damage, including some self-driving Waymo vehicles that were set ablaze on Sunday evening. The Los Angeles Police Department said five officers sustained minor injuries. Police on Sunday said some protesters had thrown concrete and bottles at officers.
Democrats said Trump's decision to deploy military force to handle the protests amounts to an abuse of presidential power.
"The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented," Newsom's press office said on X.
Trump said he supported a suggestion by his border czar Tom Homan that Newsom should be arrested over possible obstruction of his administration's immigration enforcement measures. "I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great," Trump told reporters.
In Los Angeles, several hundred protesters chanted "free them all" outside a federal detention facility where immigrants have been held. National Guard troops and police formed a perimeter around the building.
"What is happening effects every American, everyone who wants to live free, regardless of how long their family has lived here," said Marzita Cerrato, 42, a first-generation immigrant whose parents are from Mexico and Honduras.
Some in the crowd punched and tossed eggs at a Trump supporter at the event, while others fired paintballs from a car at the federal building.
Protests also sprang up in at least nine other US cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, according to local news outlets.
The Trump administration has argued that Democratic President Joe Biden's administration allowed far too many immigrants to enter the country and that Democratic-run cities such as Los Angeles are improperly interfering with efforts to deport them. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are in the country illegally and to lock down the US-Mexico border, setting a goal of at least 3,000 daily arrests.
US Marines have been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001, attacks, but it is extremely rare for US military troops to be used for domestic policing.
Trump could deploy Marines under certain conditions of law or under his authority as commander in chief. Without invoking the Insurrection Act, the Marines, like the National Guard, would still be prevented from directly enforcing civilian laws and would likely be limited to protecting federal personnel and property.
The last time the military was used for direct police action under the Insurrection Act was in 1992, when the California governor at the time asked President George H.W. Bush to help respond to Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King.
More than 50 people were killed in the 1992 riots, which also caused some US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) in damage over six days.
Federal law allows the president to deploy the National Guard if the nation is invaded, if there is "rebellion or danger of rebellion", or the president is "unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States".
Source: Reuters
