US President Donald Trump stated that his deployment of Marines and other soldiers to Los Angeles was the only thing preventing the city from “burning to the ground” amid protests against an immigration crackdown.
“If I hadn’t ‘SENT IN THE TROOPS’ to Los Angeles over the past three nights, that once beautiful and great City would currently be in flames,” Mr. Trump shared on Truth Social, suggesting that the sporadic street unrest was akin to a recent wildfire that devastated entire neighborhoods.
The Republican’s deployment of thousands of troops has incited outrage among Democrats, with California Governor Gavin Newsom labeling Mr. Trump as “dictatorial”.
Officials indicated that approximately 700 Marines based in Southern California were anticipated to arrive in Los Angeles by this morning as part of a federal strategy designed to suppress street demonstrations opposing the immigration raids, a signature initiative of Mr. Trump’s second term.
Protesters kneel in the street facing a line of police in riot gear during a demonstration in the Little Tokyo area.
Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to ramp up operations to round up suspected immigration violators, continuing the crackdown that sparked the protests.
Trump officials have described the protests as lawless, blaming state and local Democrats for enabling turmoil and safeguarding undocumented immigrants through sanctuary cities.
The military and federal enforcement actions have further deepened the divide between the US’s two major political parties, as Mr. Trump, a Republican, threatened to arrest California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for resisting the federal crackdown.
California has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines, arguing that it infringes upon federal law and state sovereignty.
A police officer in riot gear fires a non-lethal weapon toward protesters.
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, expressed that he was “gravely troubled” by Mr. Trump’s deployment of active-duty Marines.
“The president is forcibly overriding the authority of the governor and mayor and weaponizing the military for political purposes. This unprecedented action risks escalating a tense situation into a national crisis,” Mr. Reed stated.
“Throughout our nation’s history, the American people have made it clear: we do not want the military policing our streets,” he added.
Read more: Irish immigrant priest, 90, joins LA protests in solidarity.
The announcement regarding the deployment of Marines came on the fourth consecutive day of protests.
Late yesterday, police began to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who gathered outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles, where immigrants were being held. Police confirmed that arrests were being made.
National Guard forces formed a human barricade to keep individuals away from the building, after which a line of police advanced up the street, pushing people away and deploying “less lethal” munitions such as gas canisters. Police had employed similar tactics since Friday.
Demonstrators holding signs confront National Guard members outside the federal building in LA.
US Marines are recognized as the first American forces to establish a beachhead in military interventions and the last to leave any occupation.
While military forces have been deployed domestically for significant disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 attacks, it is quite uncommon for troops to be used during civil unrest.
Even without invoking the Insurrection Act, Mr. Trump can deploy Marines under specific legal circumstances or under his authority as commander in chief.
The last instance of the military being utilized for direct police action under the Insurrection Act occurred in 1992, when the then-California governor requested President George H.W. Bush’s assistance in responding to the Los Angeles riots that ensued following the acquittal of police officers involved in the beating of black motorist Rodney King.
Members of the press take cover as police officers clear a plaza.
Mr. Newsom asserts that it is his responsibility as governor to call in the National Guard, characterizing Mr. Trump’s actions as “an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism”.
In response, Mr. Trump indicated his support for a suggestion by his border czar Tom Homan that Mr. Newsom should be arrested over possible obstruction of his administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. “I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
The protests have yielded a few dozen arrests and some property damage thus far.
Watch: LA protesters set off fireworks and face off with police.
“What is occurring affects every American, everyone who desires to live freely, regardless of how long their family has been here,” said Marzita Cerrato, 42, a first-generation immigrant with parents from Mexico and Honduras.
Protests also emerged in at least nine other US cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, according to local news outlets.
Mayor states ‘chaos’ in LA began in Washington DC.
In Austin, Texas, police used non-lethal munitions and detained several individuals during clashes with a crowd of several hundred protesters.
Before the Los Angeles dispersal, hundreds of protesters outside a detention center chanted “free them all,” waved Mexican and Central American flags, and hurled occasional vulgar insults at federal officers.
Watch: Reporter safe after being hit by rubber bullet amid unrest in LA.
As night fell, officers engaged in ongoing confrontations with protesters who scattered into the Little Tokyo area of the city.
Onlookers from apartment balconies and tourists inside hotels observed as a large contingent of LAPD and sheriff’s deputies discharged several flash bangs accompanied by tear gas.
Homeland Security reported that its Immigration and Customs Enforcement division had apprehended 2,000 immigration offenders daily in recent days, significantly exceeding the 311 daily average during fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden.
California National Guard members observe during a demonstration in Los Angeles.
“We executed more operations today than we did yesterday, and tomorrow we plan to double those efforts,” Ms. Noem stated.
“The more they protest and commit acts of violence against law enforcement, the more forcefully ICE will pursue them.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass opposed the crackdown, asserting, “This is a city of immigrants.”
Ms. Noem retorted, “They are not a city of immigrants. They are a city of criminals.”
