California Sues Trump for Sending National Guard Troops Into LA After ICE Protests

Updated 3:01 p.m. Monday

California sued the Trump administration on Monday over its deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in Los Angeles over the weekend, after widespread demonstrations against increased immigration enforcement erupted across the city.

In their lawsuit, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta argue that Trump’s activation of the guard violated the limits on federal power under the 10th Amendment because Newsom did not ask for the troops. Under ordinary circumstances, National Guard units are under the command of state governors.

“This is something that is within Gov. Newsom’s sovereignty,” Bonta said. “And he did not authorize the use of the National Guard here, did not call for it.”

Bonta added that local law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, had enough resources to manage the crowds and respond to sporadic vandalism.

“With this order, Trump and [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth ignored law enforcement’s expertise and guidance,” Bonta said.

The suit comes amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and California leaders. As Newsom and Bonta accused Trump of overstepping federal law to send in the guard, the president voiced support for arresting Newsom.

After Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Saturday that “anybody” who impedes the work of federal law enforcement agents could face arrest, Newsom upped the ante in a Sunday interview with MSNBC.

“Come after me, arrest me, let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” Newsom said. “I don’t give a damn.”

Trump told reporters outside the White House on Monday that Newsom was doing a “terrible job” and that he’d support Homan pursuing an arrest.

“I would do it, if I were Tom, I think it’s great,” Trump said. “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.”

Meanwhile, the administration is expected to increase the military presence in Los Angeles on Tuesday by deploying a battalion of 700 active-duty Marines based out of Twentynine Palms to serve in a “support role.”

Trump’s memorandum sending the National Guard into Los Angeles invoked a rarely used provision of the U.S. code that allows a president to deploy guard troops to a state if “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

The last time a president deployed a state’s national force without the request of its governor was in 1965.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the move was necessary after “violent mobs attack[ed]” Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting raids, which have ramped up in recent weeks.

ICE announced Saturday that it had arrested 118 immigrants in Los Angeles over the previous week. In San Francisco, at least 15 people, including a 3-year-old, were arrested following appearances at ICE check-ins last week.

Ahilan Arulanantham, faculty co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, said Trump’s justification of military deployment could set a dangerous precedent.

“If every time there’s a few people who throw rocks or lie down in front of ICE cars or something, that that’s a form of rebellion — then that essentially means that we can live in something akin to a military dictatorship,” Arulanantham said on KQED’s Forum.

According to California Legal Affairs Secretary David Sapp, “there is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles, and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation.”

Since troops were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles, protests have erupted in other cities across the country, including in San Francisco. On Sunday night, approximately 155 people, including six children, were arrested and issued citations after a group of protesters outside the city’s ICE field office turned violent and vandalized buses and windows, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

More demonstrations are expected in the coming days.

Over the weekend, Newsom sparred with Trump on social media, saying that he was manufacturing a crisis and inflaming conditions by sending in the guard troops. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Sunday on NPR that bringing the National Guard to the city felt “provocative.”

“What was happening in terms of the protest and all was well under control by the police department,” she said. “Our law enforcement officers are well-equipped here to handle the level of protest that you saw, and that’s why Governor Newsom did not make the request for federal support, and neither did I, in terms of we thought more support was needed that our local law enforcement couldn’t handle.”

Newsom’s showdown with Trump comes months after the governor deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles in the wake of devastating wildfires and sought a partnership with the new administration on rebuilding and recovery.

Since then, Newsom has reprised his earlier role as a top Trump critic — on tariffs, Medicaid cuts and environmental policy. With his response to the idea of being arrested, Newsom showed a bravado that could boost his image among California Democrats, spoiling for a fight with Trump, said Los Angeles Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo.

“I think you saw someone challenging the masculinity of this White House,” Trujillo said. “I think you saw, for lack of a better word, some machismo coming from a Democrat, and I wouldn’t be shocked if you see Newsom’s polling improve.”

Trujillo said partisan confrontation with the White House could also boost local L.A. officials, particularly Bass, who is up for re-election next year.

In his order Saturday night, Trump justified the deployment by saying the protests had caused security threats at federal property, including detention centers.

“To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States,” he wrote.

Trujillo, an L.A. native, said Angelenos are unlikely to believe the demonstrations have reached a level of disorder that merits a heavy federal response.

“I think on the Lakers-winning-the-championship scale, this is about a three, three and a half,” he said.