Court hearing set on Trump's use of National Guard and Marines to help
with immigration raids in LA
[June 12, 2025]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal court hearing is scheduled
for Thursday on whether the Trump administration can use the National
Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids in Los Angeles.
California Gov. Newsom has depicted the federal military intervention in
the nation's second largest city as the onset of a much broader effort
by Trump to overturn political and cultural norms at the heart of the
nation’s democracy. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has echoed that, saying
the deployment of troops was unnecessary and meant to undermine local
jurisdictions and intimidate the city’s large immigrant population.
Newsom filed an emergency motion requesting the court's intervention
after President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of roughly 4,000
National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles following protests
over his stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws.
The Trump administration called the lawsuit a “crass political stunt
endangering American lives” in its official response on Wednesday.
The Democratic governor argued the troops were originally deployed to
protect federal buildings and said sending troops to help support
immigration raids would only promote civil unrest.
The protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles intensified after
Trump called up the National Guard and have since spread to other
cities, including Boston, Chicago and Seattle.
Federal immigration agents have been arresting people at Home Depot
parking lots and other businesses, sparking fear in immigrant
communities, after the Trump administration said it wanted to
dramatically increase arrests under its immigration crackdown.
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Protesters against federal immigration raids gather outside the
Metropolitan Detention Center, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Los
Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Bass and Newsom
say are nowhere close to the truth.
Most demonstrations have been peaceful but this weekend some turned
raucous with protesters setting cars on fire in downtown Los
Angeles. The city has imposed a nightly curfew covering a
1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section where protests have
occurred in the sprawling metropolis of 4 million people.
The Marines have not yet been spotted in Los Angeles and Guard
troops have had limited engagement with protesters.
Newsom filed the motion Tuesday, the same day the military announced
some members of the National Guard were now standing in protection
around federal agents. The change moves troops closer to engaging in
law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised as
part of his administration’s immigration crackdown. The Guard has
the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers but
any arrests ultimately would be made by law enforcement.
Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer chose not to rule
immediately but set the hearing for Thursday in federal court in San
Francisco.
Dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together
Wednesday to demand the raids stop and the troops leave.
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