Trump
National Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles on Sunday amid ongoing protests against immigration raids, despitethat California Governor Gavin Newsom’s objections.
Newsom formally requested the Trump administration rescind the order to deploy the troops.
The governor requested a letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, which he then shared on X.
“We didn’t have a problem until (U.S. President Donald) Trump got involved.
“This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re needed,” Newsom wrote.
“Rescind the order. Return control to California.”
Trump signed a memorandum on Saturday deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen “to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” the White House said.
An expert cited by The New York Times said this is the first time in 60 years that a president has deployed a state’s National Guard without the governor’s consent.
The last instance was in 1965, when President Lyndon B Johnson used troops to protect predominantly Black demonstrators during the civil rights movement in Alabama.
The protests began on Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers executed search warrants across the city as Trump pushed forward with his goal of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Newsom appealed to protesters to remain peaceful and not give the government an excuse to act.
“Trump is trying to manufacture a crisis in LA County — deploying troops not for order, but to create chaos,” he wrote on X.
“Don’t take the bait. Never use violence or harm law enforcement.”
Los Angeles Police said protests continued on Sunday, even when authorities had declared it an unlawful, gathering.
Protesters had blocked traffic on a freeway and had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre where soldiers had formed a perimeter around the building.
“Officers are reporting that people in the crowd are throwing concrete, bottles, and other objects. Arrests are being initiated,” police wrote on X.
Cars had also been stopped and set alight on roads, the police said.
An Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Guard “has deployed approximately 300 soldiers to 3 separate locations in the greater Los Angeles area, the U.S. Northern Command posted on X.
“They are conducting safety and protection of federal property and personnel,” it added.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Los Angeles had been “invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals.”
“Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations. But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve,” he wrote. Punch
