Marines bolster National Guard in Los Angeles as ICE resumes deportation arrests

A deployment of 700 U.S. Marines arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday, to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers resuming arrest and deportation operations.

LA has witnessed four nights of rioting, resulting in over 160 arrests by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) since Friday. At least 11 local law enforcement officers were injured as of Monday since riots erupted on Thursday, reported local KTLA 5 News.

Over the weekend 40 arrests were made, as the LAPD struggled with maintaining order and protesters attacked police, federal law enforcement and federal buildings.

Most of the detained were arrested for failing to disperse, but others were charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and looting, said local KTLA.  

Many of the arrests came on Monday, only after 2,100 National Guard troops ordered to deploy by President Donald Trump arrived in the city Sunday night over the objections of California’s Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA’s Democrat Mayor Karen Bass.  

Newsom filed suit against the president, claiming deployment of troops without the authority of the governor of the state is unconstitutional. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer denied the motion for an immediate injunction but set a hearing for Thursday. 

Local NBC News reported an Adidas and an Apple store were looted on Monday night after what the TV station claimed were “largely peaceful protests” during the day.  

Local WWLP News described the riots as having “a calm and even joyful atmosphere at times” over videos and photos of cars burning and shops being looted.   

Another 2,000 National Guard troops are expected to be deployed to the city.  

The National Guard is protecting federal facilities as well as providing perimeter defense for ICE operations in the field as deportation-related arrests continue. Marines are expected to help relieve National Guard troops from defending federal buildings.

Marines are specially trained in protecting U.S. facilities overseas.   

Marine Commandant Gen. Eric Smith brushed off worries from House Democrats that Marines aren’t trained to guard federal government buildings and personnel against U.S. citizens.  

“I am not concerned. I have great faith in my Marines and their junior leaders and their more senior leaders to execute the lawful tasks that they are given,” Smith said. He also said on Tuesday the Marines had arrived in the city but had not responded directly to the riots yet.

At a hearing earlier in the day, House Democrats seemed unusually interested in the total cost of the deployment of Marines and National Guard, hammering Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for an exact figure. 

Acting Pentagon Comptroller Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell said the deployments would cost about $134 million, according to the Associated Press (AP).    

“I think we’re entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,” Hegseth cautioned, reported the AP.  

Trump also hinted that future U.S. troop deployments might be in store for other cities to reestablish order where Democrats have allowed crime to flourish.   

“We will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean, and safe again,” Trump told troops at Fort Bragg, noting that Los Angeles has gone from being one of the freest, safest cities to one of the most dangerous cities in just a few decades.   

Later in the day, the same House Democrats who complained about the $134 million cost of the LA deployment, and, who in 2024 supported then-president Joe Biden’s record budget request of $82.2 trillion over 10 years, complained Trump was eliminating some of the military and financial assistance the U.S. has been providing to Ukraine.  

So far, the U.S. has committed nearly $120 billion in financial and military assistance to Ukraine in its war against Russia.