LA protests: US deploying hundreds of Marines

The state of California has sued the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard in response to the immigration protests in Los Angeles.

According to the lawsuit, the deployment of troops in the state "trampled" on the state's sovereignty, with California pushing for a restraining order.

California attorney general Rob Bonta said the move became necessary once US President Trump escalated the number of troops, leading to growing unrest.

In a post on his X account, California governor Gavin Newsom said a government should be "accountable to its people… not military rule."

"California will be standing up for those principles in court," he added.

California governor Gavin Newsom said the Donald Trump administration will deploy an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in light of the protests in the city.

Sean Parnell, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, later confirmed the deployment in a statement on X, saying that Trump had ordered that the toops be "called into federal service to support ICE & to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties."

Newsom was highly critical of the deployment.

"This isn't about public safety, It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego," Newsom posted on his X account, calling the move "reckless, pointless and disrespectful to our troops."

According to Newsom, only approximately 300 of the first 2,000 National Guard troops to be deployed to Los Angeles are currently active in the city, with the rest "sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders."

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all members of a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel of vaccine experts, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

Kennedy removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a body that advises the CDC on which groups of people would most benefit from an already-approved vaccine and the timing in which they should get it. 

The process of considering new members to replace the departing members has begun, the statement said.

Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, said the move is to restore public trust "above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda," adding that "unbiased science" is what guides US health agencies.

Former FDA Chief Scientist Jesse Goodman called the firings a "tragedy," saying the move will reduce confidence in the US' health authorities.

Protesters against the detention of migrants have gathered in Los Angeles for a fourth day in a row.

The Los Angeles Police Department said protesters were blocking several roads across the city, announcing the closure of some roads.

This comes after the Donald Trump administration ordered the deployment of some 700 Marines in light of the ongoing protests in the city.
 

The US will deploy some 700 Marines to help the authorities' response to the immigration protests in Los Angeles, the US Northern Command said on Monday.

"The activation of the Marines is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency," the Command said in a statement.

A senior source in the Donald Trump administration earlier told the French AFP news agency that the deployment is due to the "increased threats against federal officers and federal buildings."

California governor Gavin Newsom condemned the deployment of Marines on American soil, saying Marines should not be deployed "to fulfill the deranged fantasy" of Trump, on his X account.

The United Nations has weighed in on the police response to protesters in California.

It called on all levels of government, including state and federal authorities, to prevent "further militarization" amid the unrest.

"We do not want to see any further militarization of this situation, and we encourage the parties at the local, state and federal levels to work to do that," said UN spokesperson Farhan Haq.

US President Donald Trump claimed it was necessary to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles in a post on his Truth social network on Monday.

"We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California," Trump wrote.

"If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated. The very incompetent 'Governor,' Gavin Newscum [sic], and 'Mayor,' Karen Bass, should be saying, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR'."

A day earlier, California's Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state would sue the Trump administration over the move.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has condemned the violence during protests in Los Angeles against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

"It must be clear, we condemn violence wherever it comes from," Sheinbaum said during a press conference.

Some protesters, carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing US immigration authorities, participated in the demonstrations over the past few days. 

Sheinbaum also urged respect for migrant "dignity."

Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said at least 42 Mexicans were being held after the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles.

He added that the vast majority of Mexicans detained were working when they were arrested.

The City of Glendale in Los Angeles County has canceled a contract that allowed Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house detainees in its local jail.

"The City recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract, no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good, has become divisive," it said in a statement late Sunday.

ICE's agreement with Glendale has been in place since 2007.

Even before the recent anti-ICE protests, the city faced criticism from community members and activists who argued that the collaboration violated California's sanctuary laws.

California is a sanctuary state, meaning state and local law enforcement agencies are barred from assisting federal civil immigration officers.

US President Donald Trump has sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles against the will of the California state government. But Governor Gavin Newsom sees it as an alarming abuse of power.

With this order, Trump "continues to test the bounds of legality," policy analyst Tyson Barker told DW.

At least 60 people were arrested in San Francisco as police clashed with demonstrators rallying against immigration raids in Los Angeles.

San Francisco police "declared an unlawful assembly," they said on social media platform X. "Approximately 60 people were arrested, including juveniles."

The demonstrations took place in front of a building belonging to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It was initially peaceful, but police the group of people refused to comply with an order to disperse.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said California will sue the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard to quell Los Angeles protests.

Newsom told MSNBC that the lawsuit would challenge the president's move to authorize federal troops without the state's consent.

"Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight. He's exacerbated the conditions. He's, you know, lit the proverbial match. He's putting fuel on this fire, ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard — an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act," Newsom said. "And we're going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow," he added.

Jayson Campadonia, news director at NBC News Radio, told DW that people in LA were worried about the "racial aspect of ICE raids" because it brought back memories of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.

Those riots stemmed from the acquittal of four white Los Angeles Police Department officers in the beating of Black motorist Rodney King in 1991. The riots left more than 50 dead and more than 2,000 injured.

This time too, tensions are running high as similar apprehensions come into play, with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers reportedly having taken people into custody during immigration raids, as part of US President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, in the Los Angeles area on Friday.

Campadonia has been to protest sites in LA and said smaller protests converged into a big protest on Sunday.

He said he saw members of the National Guard "fully there to go to work" as they stood shoulder to shoulder in the streets on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump said in an early morning social media post that protesters were getting aggressive in Los Angeles referring to an assessment made by the Los Angeles police chief.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell delivered a press conference earlier Sunday, saying his officers were targeted during protests and that protests were becoming "increasingly worse and more violent."

Jim McDonnell said he would have to "make a reassessment" on the need for the National Guard when asked about it at the press conference given the kind of violence that took place Sunday.

According to CNN, McDonnell said that: "Before I could answer that, I’d have to know more about what their capabilities are, what their role is intended to be, to be able to make that determination."

"We have tremendous capability here. To say that we’d go to that right away, I’d say we’re not – we wouldn’t have been there yet. Looking at the violence tonight, I think we gotta make a reassessment," he said.

"Don’t let these thugs get away with it," Trump wrote on social media, adding that it's "looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!," before writing "ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!" 

Trump has sharply criticized protesters in Los Angeles, widening a political divide between California state authorities and his administration.