Armed National Guard troops mobilized by President Trump accompanied federal immigration enforcement officers on raids in Los Angeles on Tuesday, a move that the state of California has called unlawful and inflammatory.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Tuesday evening that the National Guard was accompanying Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on their operations.
The Trump administration deployed nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and Marines to the Los Angeles area to stop protests. The deployment enraged officials in California, who filed lawsuits asking the court to intervene in what they said were illegal and provocative moves.
Earlier in the evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a photo of what appeared to be military personnel with rifles standing with ICE officers on social media. “This We’ll Defend,” he wrote.
ICE also posted images on social media of officers detaining individuals while being surrounded by National Guard members who could be identified by the insignia on their uniforms.
A federal judge in California set a hearing for Thursday afternoon on the state’s request to restrict the federal government’s use of military personnel in Los Angeles in law enforcement, limiting them only to protecting federal property.
The state also demanded an emergency order by Tuesday afternoon declaring that the Marines and other troops could not accompany immigration agents on raids or perform other law enforcement activities, such as operating checkpoints. The judge, Charles S. Breyer, declined to meet the deadline.
