The Trump administration is sending 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles after two days of isolated clashes between federal immigration agents and protesters.
Officials say the Guard will assist in operations related to Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Many questions remain unanswered, but here is what we know:
When will the troops arrive?
Officials said the troops were arriving in L.A. as soon as Saturday night, though it was unclear when the full 2,000 personnel would be in place.
There is some confusion about when they would arrive.
The interim U.S. attorney for L.A., Bill Essayli, said Saturday night that the arrival time was within 24 hours; Trump on Sunday morning suggested they had already arrived.
KABC-TV had video showing Guard members in parts of L.A. County including Paramount. KTLA-TV reported that the guard was patrolling federal facilities in downtown by early Sunday.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on X that the Guard was being deployed “immediately to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles. And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.”
What will the National Guard do?
Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s “border czar,” said on Fox News that officials were trying to “address violence and destruction occurring near raid locations where demonstrators are gathering. … American people, this is about enforcing the law, and again, we’re not going to apologize for doing it.”
It is possible they will provide backup during future immigration raids and provide protection of some federal facilities, including a detention center in downtown L.A. that has been a site of protests and some vandalism.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said local law enforcement was already mobilized and that sending in troops was a move that was “purposefully inflammatory” and would “only escalate tensions.”
“[T]here is currently no unmet need,” Newsom said.
How long will they remain?
The deployment memo for the National Guard says “the duration of duty shall be for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense. In addition, the Secretary of Defense may employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion.”
What are the legal issues?
Trump said in a memo to the Defense and Homeland Security departments that he was calling the National Guard into federal service under a provision called Title 10 to “temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions.”
Title 10 provides for activating National Guard troops for federal service. Such Title 10 orders can be used for deploying National Guard members in the United States or abroad.
What are experts saying?
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley School of Law, told The Times that Trump has the authority under the Insurrection Act of 1807 to federalize the National Guard units of states to suppress “any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy” that “so hinders the execution of the laws.”
Has this happened before?
Yes, the National Guard has been deployed to Los Angeles numerous times amid civil unrest and natural disaster.
Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School, noted that when the National Guard was sent to L.A. before, it was because California requested it and the response was coordinated.
- In 2020, widespread criminal acts in the wake of the George Floyd murder prompted Mayor Eric Garcetti to seek National Guard troops from Newsom. Garcetti asked for 1,000 troops. Guardsmen toting M-4 rifles could be seen patrolling streets between Skid Row and Bunker Hill. In combat gear, they stood guard outside shattered storefronts and graffiti-tagged buildings, where windows had been shattered and the street strewn with trash. Humvees and military trucks were present in the city.
- In 1994, after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake left more than 1,000 buildings destroyed and 20,000 residents homeless, the Guard was brought in. Convoys rumbled through the San Fernando Valley, patrolling mini-malls and parks to deliver water, deter looters, direct traffic and raise tent cities for 6,000 displaced residents.
- In 1992, thousands of National Guard and U.S. military troops patrolled L.A. amid the riot following the Rodney King trial. Mayor Tom Bradley requested the help when the LAPD could not quell the unrest.
- In 1965, 13,000 troops were sent to L.A. amid the Watts riots.
What prompted the decision?
There have been several scattered and isolated clashes between protesters and authorities, including two at the L.A. Civic Center, one in the Fashion District and one in Paramount, a small city 15 miles south of downtown L.A.
In the most serious recent incident, a crowd gathered Saturday near a Home Depot at 6400 Alondra Blvd. in Paramount for a demonstration that escalated over the course of the day into a fiery and tumultuous clash with federal agents.
The protest began without violence as demonstrators chanted “ICE go home” and “No justice, no peace.” Some protesters yelled at deputies, and flash-bang grenades were deployed.
Times reporters witnessed federal agents lobbing multiple rounds of flash-bangs and pepper balls at protesters.
After a time, some protesters responded by throwing rocks and other items at ICE vehicles. One person used their own vehicle to speed toward deputies, spurring the deputies to deploy flash-bang grenades at the car. Many of the protesters did not appear to engage in these tactics.
Around 4 p.m., the confrontation near the Home Depot in Paramount was declared an unlawful assembly, and officials warned protesters in Spanish and English to quit the scene immediately. During the protest, at least one protester was injured, witnesses reported, and a Border Patrol official said an agent was hurt.
By 7 p.m., about 100 protesters had gathered in the area of the 710 Freeway near Atlantic Avenue and Alondra Boulevard, where some were lobbing rocks and bottles at L.A. County sheriff’s deputies. At one point, someone set fire to a car, which became engulfed in flames.
Deputies responded with pepper spray canisters and ordered them to disperse.
In a statement shortly afterward, the sheriff’s department said: “We are planning for long-term civil unrest and collaborating with our law enforcement partners.”
The department said around 8 p.m. that it had arrested two people on suspicion of assaulting an officer. One allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail, and three deputies were struck, causing minor injuries, the department said. It did not make any other arrests earlier Saturday.
However, Essayli, the interim U.S. attorney for the Los Angeles area, said in a post on X that federal agents had arrested more than a dozen people “who impeded agents in their ability to conduct law enforcement operations.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
