The Trump administration says it will send 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles after two days of isolated clashes between federal immigration agents and protesters.
The authorities say that the guard will help in the operations related to Trump's repression against illegal immigration. Many questions remain unanswered, but this is what we know:
When will the troops arrive?
The authorities said the troops would arrive in Los Angeles as soon as Saturday night, although it was not clear when the full 2,000 staff would be in place.
There is some confusion about when they would arrive.
The American prosecutor of Bill Essayli said Saturday night within 24 hours. Trump Sunday morning suggested that they had already arrived.
Kabc had a video that showed the guard members in parts of Los Angeles County, including Paramount.
The Secretary of Defense, Pete Heghseth, said in X that the guard was being deployed “immediately to support the Federal Police in Los Angeles. And, if violence continues, marines will also mobilize active duty in Camp Pendleton, they are on high alert.”
What will the National Guard do?
Tom Homan, the “border tsar” of the Trump administration, said in Fox News that officials were trying to “address the violence and destruction that occur near places of incursion where protesters are gathering … American People, it is about enforcing the law, and again, we will not apologize to do so.”
They may provide a backup during future immigration raids and test the protection of some federal facilities, including a detention center in downtown Los Angeles, it was the scene of protests and some vandalism;
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom Sid, the Local Police was already mobilized and that sending troops was a movement that was “on an inflammatory purpose” and “would only increase tensions.”
“[T]There is currently no unsatisfied need, ”said Newsom.
What are the legal problems?
Trump said in a memorandum the National Defense and Security departments that was calling the National Guard to the Federal Service under a disposition called Title 10 to “temporarily protect the ICE and other staff of the United States government who performs federal functions.”
Title 10 establishes to activate the National Guard troops for Federal Service. These orders of Title 10 can be used to deploy members of the National Guard in the United States or abroad.
What do experts say?
Erwin Chemendnsky, dean of the UC Berkeley Law Faculty, told the times that Trump has the authority under the insurrection law of 1807 to federalize the units of the National Guard states to suppress “any insurrection, domestic violence, illegal combination or conspiracy” that “thus makes the execution of the laws difficult.”
Has this happened before?
Yes, the National Guard has been deployed in Los Angeles on numerous occasions amid civil disturbances and natural disaster.
Jessica Levinson, law professor at Loyola's Law Faculty, said that when the National Guard was sent to Los Angeles before, it was because California requested it and the answer was coordinated.
- In 2020, the generalized criminal acts following the murder of George Floyd led Mayor Eric Garcetti to look for Troops from the Newsom National Guard. Garcetti requested 1,000 troops. The guards who carry M-4 rifles could be seen patrolling streets between Skid Row and Bunker Hill. As a combat team, they were on duty outside the shattered shop windows and buildings labeled with graffiti, where the windows had been destroyed and the street full of garbage. Humvees and military trucks were present in the city.
- In 1994, after an earthquake of 6.7 left more than 1,000 destroyed buildings and 20,000 homeless residents, the guard was brought. The convoys rumbled through the San Fernando Valley, patrolling mini centers and parks to deliver water, looters, direct traffic and raise tent cities for 6,000 displaced residents.
- In 1992, thousands of military troops from the United States of the United States patrolled in Los Angeles in the midst of the disturbances after Rodney King trial. Mayor Tom Bradley requested the aid when the LAPD could not suffocate the disturbances.
- In 1965, 13,000 troops were sent to Los Angeles in the midst of Watts riots.
