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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Inside the Trump administration’s decision to deploy the National
Guard to California
By Priscilla Alvarez and Betsy Klein, CNN
Updated:
6:01 PM EDT, Sun June 8, 2025
Source: CNN
Tensions between the Trump administration and California intensified
this weekend as President decided to deploy to the Los Angeles area, a
move the state’s Democratic leaders cast as an unnecessary escalation
amid protests over the administration’s immigration policies.
Trump campaigned on aggressive mass deportations, and there has been
enormous pressure on his administration to as the first months of his
second term have fallen far short of his stated goals. The aggressive
enforcement push, in addition to long-simmering tensions between Trump
and California, contributed to a fraught weekend in Los Angeles, where
protests became violent at times.
As protests escalated Friday, Homeland Security Department officials
began preparing to augment resources and personnel on the ground to
provide force protection for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents
who were conducting a previously planned operation.
In calls that stretched into Friday evening, officials prepared for
what one source described as a Portland-type incident, harking back to
protests that erupted in that Oregon city in 2020, as protesters
surrounded a federal building in Los Angeles. The Department of
Homeland Security prepared to surge resources to Los Angeles, including
armored vehicles and less-lethal munitions like gas and pepper balls,
and to deploy hundreds more personnel from across the department,
according to two sources familiar with the calls.
During those discussions, officials considered whether they needed to
cancel the operation, but eventually, the overall assessment among
officials was that the ICE operation — focused on targeting
businesses and migrants with criminal records — was ongoing and
needed to proceed, according to sources with knowledge of the talks.
The decision: send more resources and agents to the area to provide
protection for ICE agents and to guard one of the federal buildings
where the protests had consolidated.
Over the course of the day Saturday, DHS and White House officials were
in near constant communication about the situation on the ground, as
resources and personnel continued to arrive in the city.
By Saturday evening, when it was clear the administration couldn’t
keep adding federal authorities without pulling from elsewhere, the
White House decided to pull the trigger and bring in the National
Guard, according to one of the sources.
“Administration officials were briefed on escalating attacks on law
enforcement, such as rocks being thrown at their vehicles by
rioters,” a White House official said.
The official added, “It was abundantly clear federal law enforcement
were not allowed to do their jobs and were being attacked.”
Trump signed a presidential memorandum authorizing the deployment of
National Guard members on Saturday night, and his press secretary
announced the decision as the president made his way to a UFC fight in
Newark, New Jersey.
The overwhelming message from Trump, his top aides and congressional
allies: The decision was made because Californian leaders were not
doing their job.
“California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated
their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President
Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National
Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to
fester,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in the
statement announcing the deployment.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed back strongly, warning the
deployment would only fan the flames.
“That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate
tensions. LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance
at a moment’s notice. We are in close coordination with the city and
county, and there is currently no unmet need,” the Democratic
governor on social media.
He later Trump was trying to “manufacture a crisis.”
During his first term, Trump mused on several occasions about deploying
US troops on domestic soil, either to crush protests or tamp down on
crime. Aides at the time talked Trump out of the move, which would
amount to a dramatic step without recent precedent.
Now, however, the president is less encumbered by aides who seek to
restrain his more extreme impulses. And after a campaign during which
Trump promised crackdowns on crime and illegal immigration, he appears
eager to demonstrate a willingness to use maximalist actions to follow
through on his pledges.
One senior law enforcement source involved in responding to the unrest
said they saw the deployment of the National Guard as an overreaction
that may backfire and only provoke additional agitators.
That source noted that potentially violent demonstrators observed by
law enforcement around Los Angeles as of early Saturday evening
numbered in the dozens and law enforcement officers were actively
working to bring them under control.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the move Sunday as a
matter of security.
The National Guard, she said during an appearance on CBS News’
“Face the Nation,” is expected to “use their special skill set to
keep peace.”
“National Guard soldiers are there to provide security for operations
and to make sure that we have peaceful protests,” Noem said.
The immigration crackdown in Los Angeles comes amid a renewed push by
the White House to increase immigration arrests. Deputy chief of staff
Stephen Miller, a top Trump aide and architect of the
administration’s most hardline immigration policies, communicated
that urgency in a meeting last month with senior ICE officials, pushing
agents to significantly increase arrests.
In the weeks that followed, ICE has significantly ramped up its
enforcement efforts. According to a senior DHS official, ICE’s
“enhanced enforcement operations … have resulted in a significant
increase in arrests, reaching a new daily record of 2,368” arrests on
June 4. The daily arrest average during Trump’s first 100 days in
office was approximately 1,000.
The deployment also comes as the Trump administration has threatened
major cuts to federal spending in California. that the administration
is preparing to cancel a large swath of federal funding for the state,
according to multiple sources.
Agencies are being told to start identifying grants the administration
can withhold from California, and sources said the administration is
specifically considering a full termination of federal grant funding
for the University of California and California State University
systems.
Trump has repeatedly publicly lambasted Newsom, with whom he has long
had a contentious relationship that only deteriorated earlier this
year. The two men spoke by phone for approximately 40 minutes on
Friday, Newsom’s office said in a statement.
During that call, the White House official said, Trump “told Newsom
to get the police in gear because it was getting out of control.”
It is unclear how long the National Guard could be present, but the
memorandum signed by Trump states that the guard’s service will last
60 days at the discretion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino made clear that the protests would not
deter immigration enforcement efforts, saying in a post to social
media, “We are not stopping or slowing down. We are not intimidated
or apprehensive. Illegal immigration operations will continue and
anyone using violence to obstruct and impede these operations will be
investigated and prosecuted.”
Hegseth, for his part, posted Saturday that active-duty Marines
stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton were on “high alert” to support
the National Guard. Trump told reporters Sunday that he was not
prepared at this time to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, which
authorizes presidents to deploy US military domestically.
Asked whether he was prepared to invoke the law, Trump told reporters
in New Jersey it “depends whether or not there is an insurrection.”
Pressed on whether he believed there was one happening in Los Angeles,
he said, “No, but you have violent people and we’re not going to
let them get away with it.”
Trump was asked his definition of an insurrection, and said, “You
really just have to look at the site and see what’s happening. Last
night in Los Angeles, we watched it very closely. There was a lot of
violence there.”
Still, he kept the option open.
“We’re going to see what we need. We’ll send whatever we need to
make sure there is law and order,” Trump said as he prepared to
depart for Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Just over an hour later, he claimed on social media that “violent,
insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking” federal agents in
Los Angeles to halt deportation efforts by his administration.
Trump, for his part, is expected to huddle with Hegseth and other top
officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State
Marco Rubio, Sunday evening at Camp David for what the White House says
will become a regular off-campus retreat to address a number of issues
and topics.
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