The American President Donald Trump has sent another two thousand members of the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. The American military is sending approximately seven hundred marines to support the National Guard.
The U.S. Department of Defense is mobilizing two thousand additional members of the California National Guard, the state in which Los Angeles is located, writes defense spokesperson Sean Parnell on X. According to him, this is happening on the orders of Trump.
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, calls the decision reckless and “disrespectful to our troops.” He says that the first two thousand guardsmen who were sent to Los Angeles did not receive food or water.
“Only about three hundred are being deployed. The rest are sitting unused in government buildings without instructions. This is not about public safety. It’s about stroking the ego of a dangerous president,” the governor states on X.
In addition, seven hundred marines have been sent to Los Angeles. A statement reads that they will “protect federal officials and buildings.” A source tells news agency AP that the U.S. Department of Defense is drafting guidelines stating what the marines are allowed and not allowed to do.
Deployment of National Guard is controversial, lawsuit started
The deployment of the National Guard by President Trump is controversial. Democratic governors state that he cannot simply deploy the units and call it “alarming abuse of power.” Governor Newsom therefore started a lawsuit against the federal government on Monday.
Hundreds of protesters have been demonstrating since Friday against the immigration policy of the Trump administration. The activists state, among other things, that immigration services also arrest legal immigrants during home searches.
On Sunday, hundreds of members of the National Guard were deployed. This number has increased to more than four thousand in recent days.
The protests have been very violent for days, as can be seen in these photos. The protests have caused destruction, vehicles have been set on fire, and shops have been looted. The police have also been pelted with, among other things, bricks. The National Guard and the police have used tear gas and shot rubber bullets.