Trump Deploys 700 Marines to Los Angeles Amid Protests

The Trump administration has intensified its response to anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles by mobilizing 700 Marine Corps personnel to support the thousands of National Guard troops already deployed in the region. This decision has exacerbated tensions with Democratic leaders, particularly California Governor Gavin Newsom. The military has announced that the Marines will work alongside the 2,100-strong 51st Task Force, which includes National Guard troops, and that several hundred soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are also stationed in the greater Los Angeles area. The exact arrival time of the Marines in Los Angeles remains unspecified, and the local police chief has expressed concerns about the potential challenges posed by the military's arrival without proper coordination.

Prior to the federal government's deployment of troops, protesters and local police clashed for four consecutive nights over the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency's raids on undocumented immigrants. Local officials reported that these raids had caused widespread panic in a city with a significant immigrant population. President Donald Trump and Governor Newsom have engaged in a war of words over the handling of the unrest, with the state suing the federal government over the deployment of the National Guard. Trump has hinted that Newsom could face arrest if he interferes with federal immigration enforcement or the management of the unrest. Newsom is widely regarded as a potential Democratic presidential candidate for 2028.

Trump claimed on Tuesday that without his intervention, Los Angeles would have been "burned to the ground" like the wildfires that ravaged parts of the city earlier this year. On Monday, peaceful daytime protests in Los Angeles escalated into sporadic clashes, with police firing non-lethal ammunition and some protesters throwing bottles. However, the immigration raids that sparked the protests have not ceased, and the situation in Los Angeles remains highly tense.

The unrest has begun to spread beyond Los Angeles, with anti-ICE protests occurring in major cities such as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington. In Santa Ana, Orange County, protesters faced off against law enforcement. On Monday night, police in Dallas and Austin, Texas, clashed with protesters and used tear gas to disperse crowds near the state capitol.

The Trump administration believes that the situation in Los Angeles is deteriorating and requires military support for immigration enforcement and to restore order. Marines stationed at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California began mobilizing over the weekend after receiving orders. Typically, U.S. law prohibits the use of active-duty military for domestic law enforcement, but this restriction does not apply to the state-controlled National Guard. Trump signed an order on Sunday directing the U.S. Northern Command to take control of the National Guard and deploy at least 2,000 troops to the Los Angeles area.