Marine infantry unit deploying to Los Angeles amid immigration enforcement unrest
The deployment is part of the Trump administration's response to protests against ICE raids in the Los Angeles area.
Approximately 700 U.S. Marines have been ordered to the Los Angeles area to join a growing military response to violent protests against immigration enforcement raids there.
The troops of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment were ordered to prepare for potential deployment over the weekend, said U.S. Northern Command spokesperson Col Kelly Frushour in an emailed statement June 9. The Twentynine Palms, California-based Marines will join the 2,100 federalized National Guard troops "protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area," Frushour added. Twentynine Palms is about a two-hour drive from the city.
The Marines heading to Los Angeles are from an infantry battalion whose typical mission is close combat with enemy forces. But for this mission, Frushour said, the activated Marines and Guardsmen "have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has sued President Donald Trump's administration over the National Guard deployment, blasted the Marines' movement in a social media post.
"[Marines] shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President," Newsom said.
Active duty troops rarely deploy for riots and other civil unrest due to legal restrictions barring them from directly participating in civilian law enforcement unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act. The act allows the president to use military force to suppress rebellion or revolt against the federal government. Trump has not yet invoked the law.
In 2020, Trump's first administration staged hundreds of active-duty Army troops near Washington, D.C., during the protests after George Floyd was killed. But the paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division went home without entering the city's streets.