Around 700 Marines are deploying to the Los Angeles area to protect federal buildings and law enforcement in the wake of protests over the Trump Administration’s immigration raids.
The troops will join the thousands of National Guard members who were already activated by President Donald Trump over the weekend without the consent of California’s governor Gavin Newsom.
“If I didn’t ‘SEND IN THE TROOPS’ to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. due to an incompetent Governor and Mayor,” Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday morning, referring to the January wildfires that were caused by dry conditions and strong winds.
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The deployment of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines—based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.—marks the first time in over three decades that Marines have been mobilized inside the United States to respond to civil unrest. Their presence represents a striking escalation of federal involvement in what began as local protests over immigration enforcement.
The estimated cost of deploying the National Guard and the Marines to the Los Angeles area is $134 million, according to Bryn MacDonnell, a top Pentagon official testifying before the House on Tuesday.
While the Marines are expected to avoid direct engagement with demonstrators, the symbolism of active-duty troops patrolling the streets of Los Angeles has reignited deep political tensions and legal debates over the limits of federal power. The Marines are tasked with protecting federal facilities and personnel, according to a statement from U.S. Northern Command, and will operate under Task Force 51—a contingency unit created to coordinate military support for domestic emergencies.
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“We believe ICE agents should be allowed to be safe in doing their operations, and we have deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a hearing in Congress on Tuesday when asked about the deployment of Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles.
Newsom, who has publicly condemned the federal response as both unlawful and inflammatory, described the Marine deployment as “unprecedented” and “completely unwarranted.”
“They shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President,” Newsom said on X. His office filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block the deployment, arguing that Trump had “trampled” the state’s sovereignty by bypassing both the governor and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
The protests began Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carried out coordinated raids across Los Angeles, detaining dozens of workers at warehouses and other worksites. The arrests sparked immediate backlash, with demonstrators converging outside federal buildings, blocking freeways, and in some cases clashing with police.
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By Sunday, as images of burning self-driving cars and confrontations near the downtown federal detention center spread across social media, Trump issued a presidential order deploying 2,000 National Guard troops. A second order followed Monday night, calling for an additional 2,000 troops. Pentagon officials confirmed that about 1,700 Guard members were already active in the greater Los Angeles area by late Monday, and the Marines would be joining them in a “support” capacity.
The deployments have touched a raw nerve in California, where Democratic leaders say Trump is overstepping his constitutional authority in pursuit of political spectacle. The governor’s office said that only a fraction of the initially deployed Guard members had been given orders, and many remained inside federal facilities awaiting direction.
“This isn’t about public safety,” Newsom said on X. “It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego.”
Mayor Bass echoed those sentiments, calling the influx of troops “a deliberate attempt to create disorder and chaos in our city.” She urged the federal government to halt the raids and allow local authorities to manage the situation.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell also expressed frustration with the federal operation, warning that the sudden arrival of troops presented “significant logistical and operational challenges.” In a statement, McDonnell emphasized the need for clear communication between agencies, noting that the LAPD had successfully handled large-scale protests in the past.
The federal government has framed the move as a necessary precaution amid what it says are credible threats to federal personnel and infrastructure, claiming the military’s presence was meant to deter violence and protect immigration officers working in increasingly volatile conditions.
The last time Marines were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles was in 1992, following days of rioting after the acquittal of officers in the beating of Rodney King. In that case, President George H.W. Bush acted at the request of then-Gov. Pete Wilson and invoked the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 1792 statute allowing the president to use the military to suppress domestic unrest.
This time, however, Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act. Instead, he is relying on a broader presidential authority to protect federal property. Legal experts say that distinction may ultimately determine whether the deployments are deemed lawful. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement without specific legal authorization—a principle the Trump Administration insists it is not violating, since the Marines will not be arresting or directly interacting with protesters.
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Despite the dramatic federal presence, most of Monday’s demonstrations remained peaceful. Thousands gathered at City Hall for a union-led rally demanding an end to immigration raids. Outside the federal detention center, protesters held hands and chanted, “Free them all!” and “National Guard, go away.”
Still, by evening, confrontations had resumed. Police began using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse crowds near the Little Tokyo neighborhood, where at least a dozen people were detained. In nearby Paramount, where more arrests had occurred during earlier raids, family members of detainees held a press conference demanding information about their loved ones.
Additional protests against immigration raids have continued in several other cities, including San Francisco and Dallas.
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