The Trump administration deployed US Marines to Los Angeles on Monday and intensified raids targeting suspected undocumented immigrants, leading to further outrage from street protesters and Democratic leaders, who raised concerns about a national crisis.
Around 700 Marines based in Southern California were expected to arrive in Los Angeles by Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to officials, as part of a federal strategy to quell street demonstrations against the immigration raids, which are a key focus of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Although their mission to protect federal personnel and property is temporary – filling the gap until a full contingent of 4,000 National Guard troops can reach Los Angeles – the deployment represents an extraordinary use of military force in support of a police operation, coming over the objections of state and local leaders who did not request assistance.
Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to carry out even more operations to round up suspected immigration violators, continuing a crackdown that has provoked protests. Trump officials have labelled the protests as lawless and blamed state and local Democrats for permitting upheaval and protecting undocumented immigrants in sanctuary cities.
The military and federal enforcement operations have further polarised America's two major political parties, with Trump, a Republican, threatening to arrest California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, for resisting the federal crackdown.
California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday to block the deployment of the National Guard and Marines, arguing that it violates federal law and state sovereignty.
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, said he was "gravely troubled" by Trump’s deployment of active-duty Marines.
"The president is forcibly overriding the authority of the governor and mayor and using the military as a political weapon. This unprecedented move threatens to turn a tense situation into a national crisis," Reed said.
"Since our nation's founding, the American people have been clear: we do not want the military conducting law enforcement on US soil," he added.
Rare use of military
US Marines are known as the first American forces to establish a beachhead in US military interventions, and as the last forces to leave any occupation.
While military forces have been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the attacks of September 11, 2001, it is extremely rare for troops to be used domestically during civil disturbances.
Even without invoking the Insurrection Act, Trump can deploy Marines under certain legal conditions or under his authority as commander in chief.
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 HW Bush to help respond to the Los Angeles riots following the acquittal of police officers who had beaten Black motorist Rodney King.
Newsom contends it is his responsibility as governor to call in the National Guard, labelling Trump’s actions as "an unmistakable step towards authoritarianism."
Trump, in turn, said he supported a suggestion by his border czar Tom Homan that Newsom should be arrested for possibly obstructing his administration’s immigration enforcement measures. "I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great," Trump told reporters.
Four Days of Protests
The protests so far have resulted in a few dozen arrests and some property damage.
"What is happening affects 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.
Protests also erupted in at least nine other US cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, according to local news outlets.
In Austin, Texas, police fired non-lethal munitions and detained several people as they clashed with a crowd of several hundred protesters.
Before the Los Angeles dispersal, several hundred protesters gathered outside a detention centre, chanting "free them all," waving Mexican and Central American flags, and directing sometimes vulgar insults toward federal officers.
At dusk, officers clashed with protesters who had scattered into the Little Tokyo area of the city. As people watched from apartment balconies and tourists huddled inside hotels, a large contingent of LAPD officers and sheriff's deputies fired several flashbangs and tear gas into the streets.
Homeland Security reported that its Immigration and Customs Enforcement division had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day in recent days, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden.
"We conducted more operations today than we did the day before, and tomorrow we are going to double those efforts again," Noem told Fox News’ "Hannity." "The more they protest and commit acts of violence against law enforcement officers, the harder ICE is going to come after them."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass opposed the clampdown, telling MSNBC, "This is a city of immigrants."
Noem countered that, "They are not a city of immigrants. They’re a city of criminals."
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