(LOS ANGELES) — There are currently 4,100 California National Guardsmen and 700 Marines in the greater Los Angeles area after President Donald Trump ordered them to protect federal buildings and federal law enforcement as protests opposed to ICE raids increased over the weekend.
Most of the attention has been focused on the crowd control assistance that these troops could provide around federal buildings, but Trump’s memo calling up National Guardsmen also said they would “temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law.”
On Tuesday, the X page for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posted photos of California National Guardsmen on the scene of a detention being carried out by an ICE agent with the caption “Photos from today’s ICE Los Angeles immigration enforcement operation.”
One of the photos was later reposted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s personal X account with the caption “This We’ll Defend.”
A U.S. official told ABC News that the photos showed National Guardsmen providing force protection to federal personnel and were not conducting law enforcement duties.
The Posse Comitatus Act prevents active-duty U.S. military personnel from carrying out domestic law enforcement duties though that restriction can be lifted when a president invokes the Insurrection Act, which President Trump has not done.
In the photos, the National Guardsmen were armed with rifles but it was unclear if they were loaded with ammunition. ABC News has previously reported that while the federalized troops are carrying weapons, their guns will not have ammunition loaded in the chamber, according to U.S. officials. But they will carry ammunition as part of their regular uniforms that can be used in the rare case of needed self-defense.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state of California have asked a federal court to stop the Trump administration from using federalized National Guardsmen and Marines to accompany ICE agents on immigration raids saying it will “escalate tensions” and raises questions if the force protection they are providing constitutes law enforcement duties which they are not allowed to do by federal law.
“Defendants intend to use unlawfully federalized National Guard troops and Marines to accompany federal immigration enforcement officers on raids throughout Los Angeles,” said the lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on behalf of Newsom. “They will work in active concert with law enforcement, in support of a law enforcement mission, and will physically interact with or detain civilians.”
“To preserve the peace, Plaintiffs respectfully urge the Court to grant the circumscribed emergency relief requested through this motion for a temporary restraining order, which will prevent the use of federalized National Guard and active duty Marines for law enforcement purposes on the streets of a civilian city,” the motion requested.
A hearing on the state’s motion will be held on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Hegseth told a congressional committee that he and President Trump have the power to send National Guard and active-duty troops anywhere in the country to ensure that ICE agents can enforce the law.
“We believe that ICE, which is a federal law enforcement agency, has the right to safely conduct operations in any state, in any jurisdiction in the country,” Hegseth told a House Appropriations Defense subcommittee.
“ICE ought to be able to do its job, whether it’s Minneapolis or Los Angeles,” he added.
On Wednesday, testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Hegseth again defended using troops with ICE agents on immigration raids, saying it was needed to keep them from being attacked.
Democratic Sen. Jack Reed shot back, calling it “illegal.”
“Law and order is a civil function under the Constitution of the United States — civil enforcement, law enforcement authorities — not the U.S. military,” Reed said.
“This is not only, I think, illegal, but also a diminution of the readiness and focus of the military,” he added.
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