National Guard troops arrived Sunday morning in Los Angeles to tame violent protests over immigration enforcement in the area.
The protests began Friday following three Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the city. Protesters gathered around the Los Angeles Federal Building and demanded an end to the raids.
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As protests escalated on Saturday, President Donald Trump decided to send National Guard members to LA to help support federal officials in the area, a decision that has garnered significant criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
Here are the key players and what they’ve done in the past 72 hours.
Donald Trump
After protests escalated on Saturday, Trump signed an order to deploy 2,000 National Guard members to LA to aid federal law enforcement with immigration enforcement.
“Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” Trump wrote Sunday in a post on Truth Social. “These radical left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED.”
The question now is whether Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act, a law created in 1792 that allows the president to deploy members of the military domestically when necessary. Typically, it is for addressing cases of rebellion or domestic violence, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
“Depends on whether or not there’s an insurrection,” Trump told reporters Sunday. “We’re not going to let them get away with it. We’re going to have troops everywhere, we’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart.”
As of yesterday afternoon, Trump doesn’t believe the protests in LA qualify as an insurrection, but that could change.
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Gavin Newsom
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has opposed the deployment of the National Guard in LA from the beginning. He urged protesters to be nonviolent and to “speak out peacefully” in a post on X on Saturday, saying the federal government wants a “spectacle.”
Newsom formally requested on Sunday that the administration withdraw troops from LA. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved,” he wrote in a post on X. “This is a serious breach of state sovereignty– inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.”
Newsom also appeared Sunday on MSNBC for an interview with reporter Jacob Soboroff, claiming his request to Trump has been ignored. “Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight,” Newsom said, referring to Trump’s decision to mobilize the National Guard. “An illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act, and we’re going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow.”
On Monday, Newsom reiterated his desire to sue the Trump administration on X. “The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA,” Newsom wrote in his post. “It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We’re suing him.”
Rob Bonta
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday.
Bonta, who assumed office in 2021, accused Trump of violating the 10th Amendment and federal law for deploying the National Guard without Newsom’s consent.
Bonta described Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard as “unnecessary” and “counterproductive.”
“Let me be clear: There is no invasion,” Bonta said. “There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law, and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”
Karen Bass
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also opposed the deployment of National Guard troops in the city. She believed the Los Angeles Police Department was enough to tame the protests, referring to Trump’s decision to mobilize the National Guard as “an intentional effort to sow chaos” in an interview with NPR on Sunday.
Bass’s efforts have focused on assisting immigrant rights leaders by facilitating visits between leaders and those who have been arrested.
Bass echoed Newsom’s calls today for protesters to have peaceful demonstrations. “LA has a proud history of peaceful protest for immigrants rights,” Bass wrote in a post on X. “We must continue that legacy – don’t fall into the Trump Administration’s trap.”
Tom Homan
White House “border czar” Tom Homan has championed the work ICE has been doing in LA. The agency reported 118 arrests last week that included five gang members, according to a post on X on Saturday.
Homan appeared on Fox News for an interview, responding to criticism of immigration enforcement in LA.
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“You can protest, you’ve got your First Amendment rights,” Homan said Monday. “But when you cross that line, you put hands on an ICE officer or you destroy property, or you impede law enforcement … that’s a crime. And the Trump administration is not going to tolerate it.”
Homan also criticized Newsom’s handling of the situation in LA, arguing that the governor waited too long before taking any action to address the lawlessness.
“He’s late to the game,” Homan said. “President Trump isn’t late to the game.”