In a serious escalation of chilling times to come amid mounting tensions over the so-called immigration crisis, President Donald Trump has sent active military members to Los Angeles. For his part, Trump has referred to the current state of the city as “third-world lawlessness.” This shift comes amidst widespread protests against his administration’s cruelty toward immigrants.
Trump riles up his base by calling the surge of migrants crossing into the United States an “invasion.” He makes a case that emergency actions are the best way to start to address what’s going on. The Trump administration has set a quota of 3,000 immigration arrests per day, aiming to maintain a hardline stance on immigration enforcement. As the debate continues, local leaders are concerned about potential future impacts of military presence during civil unrest.
Military Deployment and Local Reactions
Trump announced the military deployment during a speech at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, denouncing the protests as a “full-blown assault on peace, on public order and our national sovereignty carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags.” Most recently, he poorly justified the deployment of military boots on concrete, claiming the need to protect federal property and its agents. He asserted that all of these actions fell squarely within his executive prerogative.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been outspoken in her opposition to Trump’s military tactics. She charged that the administration was at fault for increasing tensions, to begin with. “We were pushed to this by the White House,” Bass said, telling reporters that it shouldn’t be citizens who are made to guess about what’s really behind Trump’s behavior.
“They’re attempting to use a violent mob as a weapon against their own constituents to prevent the enforcement of immigration law.” – Karoline Leavitt
The mayor went on to attack the federal administration for not living up to its promises to the people. She remarked, “shamefully failed to meet their sworn obligations to their citizens,” and questioned whether Trump was testing the limits of his presidential power.
National Guard’s Role and Expectations
Major General Scott Sherman clarified that although over 4,000 National Guard members have been deployed to Los Angeles, no troops have detained any protesters. While it’s true that 800 of these personnel have been trained to help ICE carry out immigration raids, Sherman cautioned that leaders are expecting a new wave of national protests as well. Those same protests have quickly engulfed not just Los Angeles, but nearly every other major city in the country.
In card stack White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt backed up Trump’s assertion about needing to deploy the National Guard and Marines. She accused their presence from keeping Los Angeles from falling into anarchy. This joint statement provided helpful cover for the administration’s narrative about the protests.
“This is deeply un-American and morally reprehensible.” – Karoline Leavitt
Even as violence escalates, community advocates worry that increased military presence will only make the unrest more dangerous than it would otherwise be.
Legal Challenges and Future Implications
California Governor Gavin Newsom has acted to respond to the surge in military presence. He issued an emergency motion, limiting Trump’s military deployment in Los Angeles to federal buildings. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Thursday. At this important hearing, Newsom will make the case to ensure civil rights are protected even as unrest and discord escalates.
The impetus behind this legal challenge mirrors much larger fears about the repercussions of deploying military forces to civilian contexts. General Dan Caine expressed caution about labeling current events as an invasion, stating, “I don’t see any foreign state-sponsored folks invading, but I’ll be mindful of the fact that there have been some border issues.”
Despite these advances, community members and local leaders aren’t stopping their advocacy. “We started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons, gang members, drug dealers,” Bass noted. Yet, she accused the administration of overreaching with their tactics: “When you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you are not trying to keep anyone safe. You’re trying to cause fear and panic.”
Things are still very much developing as demonstrations continue to change shape and the court fight is just getting started. The stage in Los Angeles for deploying military personnel raises critical constitutional questions. It has profound implications for immigration policy, civil rights, and public safety.
