California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass were leading the opposition Sunday to the Trump administration’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles after two days of protests over federal immigration raids.
Newsom blasted the move in a fundraising email sent out Sunday morning.
“Last night, President Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, using the excuse of protests against his immigration raids. Let me be totally clear about what is happening here. We have been working closely with law enforcement. There is no unmet need. The president is attempting to inflame passions and provoke a response,” Newsom’s email said.
“He would like nothing more than for this provocative show of force — and Pete Hegseth’s absurd threat to deploy United States Marines on American soil — to escalate tensions and incite violence.
“These are not people who have some deep conviction about protecting law enforcement. This is a President who failed to call up the National Guard when it was actually needed — on January 6th — and then pardoned the participants as one of his first acts as president.
“They want a spectacle. They want the violence. They think this is good for them politically. That is why White House aides were posting pictures of Trump getting popcorn last night. This is not the way a civilized country behaves. It is completely deranged behavior.
“To the people of Los Angeles and across the country who are protesting these immigration raids: Don’t give them the spectacle they want. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully and in large numbers. I know many of you have been watching the news about this, so I thought it important to reach out.”
Bass echoed some of those thoughts in an interview with KTLA5.
“I’m very disappointed that he chose to do this, because it’s just not necessary,” Bass told the station Sunday morning. “There was protests last night in Los Angeles — my understanding is that there were about 120 protesters. Several of them did commit acts of vandalism, but there was nothing that was happening in downtown Los Angeles that the Los Angeles Police Department could not manage to deal with, so to me, this is completely unnecessary, I think it’s the administration just posturing. To have 100 troops in Westwood, where nothing had happened at all, and 100 downtown is just overreach.”
Bass said she spoke to high-level officials in the Trump administration, including “border czar” Tom Holman, before the Guard was deployed, and “expressed to them that things were not out of control in the city of Los Angeles. Paramount has some issues, but I doubt very seriously that there’s a need for the National Guard there either.”
Bass said she told Holman, “If you want there to be chaos, then have troops on the ground when there is absolutely no need for that to happen.”
At 9 a.m. Sunday, three Southland congressional representatives were expected to visit the Adelanto Detention Facility in San Bernardino County, where those detained in the immigration raids were believed to be held. Reps. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), Gil Cisneros (D-Covina), and Derek Tran (D-Cypress) also scheduled a news conference after their planned visit, where they will be joined by representatives from the ACLU and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.
A “Presidential Memorandum” posted Saturday on the White House website ordered the deployment of the National Guard in light of “numerous incidents of violence and disorder [which] … threaten to continue in response to the enforcement of Federal law by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other United States government personnel who are performing Federal functions and supporting the faithful execution of Federal immigration laws.”
The order states, in part that “The members and units of the National Guard called into Federal service shall be at least 2,000 National Guard personnel and the duration of duty shall be for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.
” In addition, the Secretary of Defense may employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he has placed U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County on “high alert” to be deployed if needed.
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