Los Angeles, June 10, (dpa/GNA) – Another 2,000 National Guard troops will be deployed to Los Angeles amid ongoing immigration protests, the Pentagon said on Monday.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the order had been made by US President Donald Trump.
“At the order of the President, the Department of Defense is mobilizing an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ICE & to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties,” Parnell wrote on X.
US Vice President JD Vance said the administration would not be intimidated by “lawlessness” and that Trump would not “back down.”
“We will stand by the FBI agents tracking down violent criminals, by the guardsmen, local police, and Marines restoring order, and by the ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws,” he wrote on X.
Earlier, the US Northern Command said about 700 Marines would “seamlessly integrate” with other troops protecting federal personnel and property in the greater Los Angeles area.
Trump ordered the first 2,000 servicemen of the Californian National Guard into Los Angeles over the weekend, despite opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom.
Under normal circumstances, control of the National Guard lies with individual states. In times of war or national emergency, however, the president can assume command.
Trump takes the view that the situation in the West Coast city, where people have been demonstrating in large numbers since Friday against the actions of ICE agents, is out of control.
Local officials, including Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, deny this.
Newsom labelled the move to deploy the Marines “un-American” in a post on X.
“They shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President,” he wrote. “This is un-American.”
California had sued the Trump administration over the decision to deploy the National Guard, the state’s attorney general said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Trump’s order was unnecessary and counterproductive.
“Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends,” Bonta said.
Police had so far made at least 40 arrests due to vandalism, looting and violence, Newsom’s office said in a statement.
On Monday afternoon, the protests were continuing with hundreds of people gathering in front of a federal building.
The protests were initially peaceful, a reporter from dpa observed, as demonstrators chanted slogans and carried signs opposing the actions of ICE.
“I stand with all migrants,” signs read, along with “ICE out of LA” and “Fascism must go.”
Police said some in the crowd had thrown objects at officers.
LA police chief urges clear communication
Los Angeles Police Department chief Jim McDonnell said the department had not received any formal notification that the Marines would be arriving in the city.
“However, the possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles – absent clear coordination – presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,” he said in a statement.
“We are urging open and continuous lines of communication between all agencies to prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time.”
The United Nations called on all involved in the riots to de-escalate the situation.
“We do not want any further militarization of this,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York in response to a dpa inquiry. “And we encourage the parties at the local, state and federal levels to work to do that,” he said.
“We certainly hope that that all parties on the ground will de-escalate the situation,” Haq said.
GNA