Key points
- “You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it”: Trump
- The White House said Trump has relied on a seldom used law, known as Title 10
- “The bar is what I think it is”: Trump
ISLAMABAD: United States (US) President Donald Trump on Sunday said troops sent to Los Angeles would ensure “very strong law and order,” while appearing to leave the door open to deploying soldiers in other cities.
“You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it,” he told reporters regarding those protesting raids by immigration agents in California, according to AFP.
“I think you’re going to see some very strong law and order,” Trump added.
The US president was speaking to reporters on the tarmac at Morristown Airport before boarding Air Force One bound for Camp David.
Minutes earlier, troops had fired tear gas and pushed back a handful of protesters outside a detention centre in Los Angeles.
“Manufacture a crisis”
The deployment of hundreds of National Guard soldiers was made over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the move was designed to “manufacture a crisis.”
Trump administration officials have vowed to clamp down hard on the demonstrations, which have taken place over two days after US immigration agents launched raids in the Los Angeles area, provoking an angry response from residents.
According to AP, President Donald Trump says he is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to respond to immigration protests, over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
It’s not the first time Trump has activated the National Guard to quell protests. In 2020, he asked governors of several states to send troops to Washington, DC, to respond to demonstrations that arose after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers. Many of the governors he asked agreed, sending troops to the federal district. The governors that refused the request were allowed to do so, keeping their troops on home soil.
This time, however, Trump is acting in opposition to Newsom, who under normal circumstances would retain control and command of California’s National Guard. While Trump said that federalizing the troops was necessary to “address the lawlessness” in California, the Democratic governor said the move was “purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
Title 10
According to AFP, the White House said Trump has relied on a seldom used law, known as Title 10, that permits National Guard federalization in times of “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
The US Insurrection Act also allows the president broad powers to deploy the military domestically and use it for law enforcement, although Trump has not so far invoked it.
“The bar is what I think it is”
Responding to a question on whether he would do so, Trump said: “We’re looking at troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country.”
Asked what the bar would be for sending in US Marines rather than National Guardsmen, Trump said he would be the one to decide that.
“The bar is what I think it is,” he said.
