The Trump administration has deployed U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in response to growing protests over intensified immigration raids, sparking legal challenges and political divisions.
Hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived overnight in Los Angeles, with more expected Tuesday, following orders from President Donald Trump amid ongoing protests against immigration raids that began last Friday. The president has also activated 4,000 National Guard troops to help quell demonstrations, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and other local officials.
Approximately half of the 700 Marines ordered to the city reached Los Angeles on Monday night, with the remainder scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, according to a U.S. official. The military has not yet commented publicly on the deployment.
Mayor Bass told local media that over 100 people had been arrested during largely peaceful protests on Monday, though the previous weekend saw clashes involving rock-throwing, vehicle fires, and police use of pepper balls, flash bang grenades, and tear gas.
Trump justified the military deployment by describing the protests as a violent occupation of Los Angeles, a characterization Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom strongly dispute. Newsom has said the deployment inflames tensions and hampers local law enforcement efforts. He has filed a lawsuit arguing that the president’s activation of National Guard troops without the governor’s consent is unlawful - marking the first such unilateral activation in decades.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell stated the department was not informed about the Marines’ arrival, warning that integrating military personnel presents “significant logistical and operational challenges.”
The Marines’ current role is limited to guarding federal property until the full National Guard force arrives, but the use of active-duty military for domestic civil disturbances remains highly unusual.
Senator Jack Reed, ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed grave concern about the deployment, emphasizing the longstanding American principle against using the military for domestic law enforcement.
In contrast, Trump asserted on Truth Social that Los Angeles “would be burning to the ground right now” without the military presence.
The protests were ignited by sweeping immigration enforcement raids launched by the Trump administration targeting undocumented immigrants. Democrats and immigrant rights groups condemn the operations as indiscriminately breaking up families.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to continue similar raids, while administration officials blame local Democratic sanctuary policies for fostering lawlessness.
On Monday, hundreds gathered outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles chanting “free them all,” waving Mexican and Central American flags. National Guard troops formed barricades to keep protesters away, while police used gas canisters and made arrests during crowd dispersals.
Later that evening, confrontations erupted in the Little Tokyo neighborhood as officers fired flash bangs and tear gas to disperse scattered protesters.
The unrest has spread beyond Los Angeles, with protests reported in Orange County, where immigration raids occurred, as well as at least nine other U.S. cities including New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Austin, Texas. In Austin, police deployed non-lethal munitions against several hundred demonstrators, detaining multiple individuals.
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