Immigration: Trump’s taboo break: National guard against deportation protests

Resistance pointless, this is the message of US President Donald Trump: In the democratically ruled state of California, the Republican wants to enforce his goal of deprivation of the mass deportation of foreigners without valid papers with the help of military security forces. For this he also breaks the taboo of not using the national guard of a state without the consent of the respective governor. Trump stages himself as a hard sheriff and accuses the Democrats responsible in California to do a common cause with criminals.

In view of isolated protests against officials from the US immigration authority ICE in the Los Angeles area since Friday, Trump ordered the use of at least 2,000 soldiers from the National Guard to control the situation.

For 60 years, no president has accessed national guard so

An expert quoted by the “New York Times” said that it was the first time in 60 years that the president seized without the consent of a governor of the National Guard of a State. The last time was in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson used soldiers to protect the almost exclusively black demonstrators during the civil rights movement in the southern state of Alabama.

California’s democratic governor Gavin Newsom explained that Trump deliberately heats up the situation with the mobilization of the National Guard and accepts another escalation. Such a commitment is not the task of the National Guard “and will shake the public’s trust”. There is no lack of security forces that the government wanted to stage “a spectacle”. He appealed to the demonstrators of staying peaceful and no pretext to the government.

Defense Minister threatens military operation

Trump’s government even threatens to use the regular armed forces inside. That would be an even greater taboo break. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth stated that if necessary, the marine infantry of the armed forces could also be mobilized in California. “They are on a high alert,” he wrote on the X. Newsom platform horrified: The Minister of Defense is threatening to “use soldiers on American soil against his own citizens,” he wrote on X. “This is mentally disturbed behavior.”

The protests in the Los Angeles area-and occasionally also violent-were directed against the security forces of the US immigration authority ICE, the migrants arrested without valid papers to deport them. The white house spoke of “normal deportation inserts”. Some demonstrators threw the security forces with stones, among other things. The Trump assumed Ministry of Homeland protection spoke of a massive escalation.

The security forces countered the demonstrators in full gear with protective shields and helmets, and tear gas was also used. According to local media reports, rubber bullets and smoke grenades were also used occasionally.

In the official announcement of the US President, it was said that the National Guard would be in action for 60 days or as long as the Defense Minister considered it necessary. If necessary, the minister may also “use relatives of the regular US military” in a size considered appropriate “, it said there. The soldiers should put an end to “lawlessness” in the Los Angeles area, explained the spokeswoman for the White House, Karoline Leavitt. The US military announced in the morning (local time) that the first soldiers arrived in the Los Angeles area. Around 300 soldiers would be used in three different locations to protect the federal government and staff.

Highness over National Guard lies with the states

In the United States, states normally have control over the national guard. The National Guard is a military reserve unit and part of the US armed forces. Each state has its own national guard, which can be used in forest fires, hurricanes, floods or unrest inside. It is then under the command of the respective governor. If there is a war or national emergencies, the US President can take command. In total, the United States has more than 325,000 national guards.

US senator speaks of “unprecedented” step

One of the two California US senators, Adam Schiff, called the use of the National Guard against the will of the governor “unprecedented”. So that chaos should be donated and an escalation is brought about. He called for an end to violence – there was nothing “what President Trump would like more than violent clashes with demonstrators” in order to justify the use of the military or a form of war law, warned ship on X.

Trump disparages California governor

Immediately before the decision of the White House, Trump had already let go of a threat: If Governor Newsom and the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, did not make her jobs properly, the government would intervene and solve the problem with “unrest and looting”. Instead of using the governor’s correct last name, Trump described him in his post on the Truth Social platform as “Newscum” – a pun with the English term “scum”, which means “scum” in German.

The disparagement of the democratic governor also points to the political dimension of the case: Newsom is not only one of the most prominent Democrats, he is also considered a possible prospect of the presidential candidacy of his party in the election 2028. And: Newsom rules an enormously economical state with almost 40 million inhabitants-this is more than a tenth of the US population.

Only on Friday had newsom challenged on the X Trump platform. According to reports that the government wanted to delete billions of funding for projects in democratic California, he wrote that Californians paid the Federal Government’s invoices. The citizens paid a good $ 80 billion more taxes on Washington than the country back. “Maybe it’s time to stop, @Raldonaldtrump” he wrote to Trump.

Escalation in California offers a distraction of dispute with Musk

Trump also won the choice of promising mass deportations. He absolutely wants to deport foreigners without valid papers – and also breaks some taboo. The focus on the situation in California could also come to him politically, because for days he has always had to answer questions about his public dismissal with tech billionaire Elon Musk and is faced with criticism of his tax and budget law.

“Violent uprising” against state power?

The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, and the local police distanced themselves from the ICE missions. As usual, they do not want to work with the federal authority in their area of ​​responsibility to enable normal deportations. This is how many city administrations controlled by Democrats behave in the United States.

According to the U.S. Ministry of Department, around 1,000 demonstrators attacked ICE officials on Friday. The ministry criticized the local police only after two hours. During the week, 118 foreigners without a valid residence permit were arrested in Los Angeles, including gang members and criminal records.

Justice Minister Pam Bondi warned on X. Anyone who disabled or attack security forces must expect law enforcement. FBI director Kash Patel also threatened to use his agents.