WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has maintained his commitment to a maximalist strategy for enforcing immigration laws as he campaigns for a return to the White House. His pledge is now clearly visible in Los Angeles.
The president has deployed hundreds of National Guardsmen to the streets to curb the protests against migrant actions. State and municipal officials assert that tensions have only escalated. Trump called in the California State Guard despite objections from Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom—marking the first such action in 60 years. Additionally, he has sent active-duty troops to support security personnel.
By sidelining Newsom, Trump has gone further than his previous accommodations for civil rights protests. In 2020, he warned that if the California governor did not act, he might send troops to quell violent demonstrations. Trump remarked in September of that year, “We cannot call the National Guard unless we are requested by the governor,” emphasizing that “We must abide by the law.”
Currently, past and present presidents face minimal internal constraints on pushing the limits of their enforcement authority to fulfill promises of extensive deportations. It remains to be seen whether the American public will support these efforts nationwide, as Trump has secured billions from Congress and aims to intensify the nation’s detention and deportation initiatives.
For now, Trump is betting on their support.
“If we don’t do our job, the place will burn down,” Trump told reporters on Monday regarding California. “We feel we had no choice… we don’t want to witness what has happened so often in this country.”
“The crisis of Trump’s own creation”
Protests began to erupt on Friday following federal arrests of immigrants across various locations, including Los Angeles’ fashion district and Home Depot. Anger over the administration’s actions quickly spread to protests in Chicago, Boston, and other Southern California cities by Monday.
Meanwhile, Trump and other officials were not in control of the narrative, as images of burning vehicles, graffiti, and Mexican flags circulated.
Leaders from other major states similarly resisted.
California officials sued the Trump administration, with state Attorney General Rob Bonta arguing that the military deployment infringes upon state sovereignty and merits a restraining order. The initial deployment of 300 National Guardsmen is expected to grow to a full 4,000-person expansion approved by Trump.
“This is undoubtedly Trump’s own crisis,” declared state senior Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla during an interview.
“Many individuals are passionate about advocating for basic rights and legitimate processes, but the National Guard’s deployment will only escalate tensions further,” Padilla told The Associated Press. “That’s precisely what Donald Trump aimed to achieve.”
Padilla criticized the deployment as “counterproductive,” noting that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office had not been informed prior to the federalization by the government. His office is also seeking justification from the Pentagon regarding this deployment, with Padilla adding, “As far as we know, the Department of Defense remains uncertain about the mission here.”
Candidate Trump previewed immigration strategies during the campaign
This situation was largely foreseeable.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to execute the largest domestic and deportation operation in American history to remove millions of undocumented immigrants. He frequently praised President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s militant approaches to immigration; the candidate and his advisors proposed broad authority to deploy domestic forces to achieve Trump’s sweeping immigration and public safety goals.
Trump’s military deployment in California is sharply contrasted with his inaction during the January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. He faced criticism for falsely claiming he made such an offer.
Now, Trump surrounds himself with officials uninterested in limiting his authority. In 2020, the then-Pentagon Chief publicly responded to Trump’s threats to use the Insurrection Act, a 1807 law permitting the president to deploy military forces domestically against American citizens.
Current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses expressed support on his personal X account for deploying troops in California, referencing U.S. immigration and customs enforcement agencies with commentary about the necessary military presence.
The Department of Defense announced on Monday the deployment of approximately 700 active-duty Marines in Los Angeles to assist the National Guard troops already present to address the protests.
The White House responds to “incompetent” governors
This weekend, protesters obstructed major highways and burned self-driving cars, although many in the city reported no violence.
However, these protests led Trump to order the mobilization of the California State Guard, despite objections from local media. The president and his top immigration aides accused the governor of mishandling the protests, with border area official Tom Homan claiming that the protests fostered anti-ICE sentiment and delayed the announcement of an illegal gathering in the city.
On Friday evening, Trump called Newsom to urge him to take control of Los Angeles’ situation, according to White House officials. It was only when he noticed the escalation over a 24-hour period that he took action.
“He’s an incompetent governor,” Trump stated on Monday. “Look at the situation in California. He’s destroying one of our great states.”
Local law enforcement officials responded promptly as the protests unfolded, with Newsom asserting that state and city authorities were managing the situation effectively.
“Los Angeles is experienced with demonstrations, protests, rallies, and marches,” Padilla remarked. “Local law enforcement knows how to navigate this and has established relationships with communities and leaders to facilitate it.”
This maneuver prompted backlash from Trump’s former allies. Florida Sen. Ileana Garcia, who founded the group Latinas for Trump in 2016, expressed that while she recognizes the need to deport criminal immigrants, the current actions appear to be arbitrary measures targeting those complying with immigration hearings—often driven by a fear of persecution—all in an effort to meet the goals set by Stephen Miller.
This tactic might be just the beginning of more aggressive actions from the Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Congress. GOP lawmakers are pursuing a substantial tax and border policy package that aims to allocate billions for hiring thousands of new border patrol and ICE officers. The objective under Trump’s agenda is to remove 1 million undocumented immigrants annually and to detain 100,000 people in detention facilities.
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Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Tara Copp and Lolita C. Baldor from Washington contributed to this report.
Source: apnews.com