A battalion of active-duty Marines — around 700 troops — based out of Twentynine Palms, California, received deployment orders to Los Angeles on Monday after President Donald Trump’s commandeering and deployment of the state’s National Guard troops to the city over the weekend, defense officials confirmed to Military.com on Monday.
The deployment marks a sharp escalation in the military’s role in domestic unrest in the city caused by immigration raids by the Trump administration. It also shows Trump’s willingness to sidestep norms in his immigration crackdown by potentially pitting the military against civilians on American soil. Both California’s governor and the city’s mayor have publicly come out against the deployment of troops.
A defense official told Military.com that 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, an infantry unit, has departed its California base and was bound for Los Angeles as of Monday afternoon. However, Pentagon and U.S. Northern Command officials declined to comment on what the Corps’ mission will be once the Marines arrive on the streets of Los Angeles, or how long they would be deployed.
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Two defense officials told Military.com that the Insurrection Act, a law that could expand the president’s ability to wield the military within the U.S., had not been invoked by Monday afternoon.
On Sunday, Trump assumed control of elements of the California National Guard’s 97th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in response to protests against a wave of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. At least 118 people alleged to be undocumented immigrants were detained, prompting outcry and protests, some of which have turned violent.
The president’s move to override state officials who opposed the deployment hasn’t been seen since the Civil Rights era.
California Guard units deployed include some 2,000 soldiers from 1st Squadron, 18th Cavalry Regiment; 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment; and the 185th Infantry Regiment. Despite the National Guard often being pitched as a force for domestic response, units rarely receive in-depth law enforcement training, as the bulk of the Guard’s training focuses on combat abroad.
California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, vocally opposed the federal intervention and requested Trump rescind the orders for troops filing into the city — arguing the move violates the state’s sovereignty. Newsom said Monday that he planned to file a lawsuit against Trump for the deployment of the National Guard.
“Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC on Sunday, according to The Associated Press.
The National Guard troops are expected to be on the ground for up to 60 days, a defense official told Military.com.
The last time the Guard was deployed domestically without a governor’s consent was in 1965 during the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. President Lyndon Johnson deployed elements of 1st Battalion, 167th Infantry Regiment, as Gov. George Wallace, a staunch segregationist, opposed it.
The Pentagon has assigned a two-star general to oversee much of the military presence on the ground in Los Angeles under the banner “Task Force 51,” but defense officials declined to identify that commander — an unusual move, given that naming senior officers is standard public disclosure.
— Drew F. Lawrence contributed to this report.
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