The United States Military Plans To Deploy 700 Marines To Los Angeles

National Guard was deployed to Los Angeles. (Twitter/@USNorthernCmd)

JAKARTA - The United States military will deploy about 700 Marines to Los Angeles for a while until more National Guard troops can arrive, marking another escalation in President Donald Trump's response to street protests over his aggressive immigration policy.

Tensions have risen since President Trump activated the National Guard on Saturday, after street protests erupted in response to the immigration raids in Southern California. This is the largest hotspot in the aggressive efforts of President Trump's Administration to illegally deport migrants living in the country.

The announcement of the marine will be made on the fourth day of consecutive protests. On Monday night, police began to disperse hundreds of demonstrators gathering outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where immigrants were being held.

National Guard troops have formed human barricades to prevent people from entering the building. Then Los Angeles police ranks moved onto the street, starting to push people out of the scene and firing "less deadly" ammunition such as gas cylinders. Police have been using similar tactics since Friday.

FBI said on Monday afternoon some protesters began throwing objects at officers and the use of less lethal ammunition had been allowed, adding in an X post: "A non-lethal ammunition can cause pain and discomfort," quoted by Reuters on June 10.

The state of California called on President Trump's Administration to block the deployment of the National Guard and Marines on Monday, arguing it violates federal law and state sovereignty.

Previously, US Marines had been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina until the September 11, 2001 attacks, but very rarely for US military forces to be used to support domestic police.

For now, President Trump's Administration has not implemented a Law on Insurgency, which will allow troops to participate directly in civil law enforcement, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that the 2,000 National Guard troops contingent would be doubled to 4,000.

Meanwhile, President Trump said on Monday he felt he had no choice but to increase the level of violence to prevent violence from getting out of control.

President Trump also said he supported suggestions from Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Tom Homan that California Governor Gavin Newsom should be arrested for possibly obstructing immigration enforcement measures of his government.

"I would have done it if I were Tom. I think it's great," President Trump told reporters.

The Democratic governor of Newsom said President Trump's decision to exert military force to deal with protests was abuse of president's power, and California's lawsuit claimed it was illegal.

"The escalation rate is completely groundless, not requested, and has never happened before," said the Newsom Governor's press office on X.

Protests have so far resulted in several dozen arrests and some property damage, including several vehicles set on fire on Sunday night.

The Los Angeles Police Department said five officers suffered minor injuries on Saturdays and Sundays, as did the five police horses used in crowd control.

Before the police intervened on Monday, several hundred protesters shouted "free them all" outside the Los Angeles federal detention facility where immigrants are being held.

"What happens has an impact on every American citizen, everyone who wants to live free, regardless of how long their family has lived here," said Marzita Cerrato, 42, the first-generation immigrant whose parents came from Mexico and Honduras.

Several people in the crowd hit and threw eggs at supporters of President Trump at the protest, while others fired paint balls from cars into federal buildings.

Protests also surfaced in at least nine other US cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, according to local news media.

It is known that President Trump can deploy Marines based on certain legal provisions or under his authority as commander-in-chief.

The last time the military was used for direct police action under the Law of Insurgency was in 1992, when the then Governor of California asked President George HW Bush to help respond to the Los Angeles riots over the release of police officers who beat black ridersURing King.

More than 50 people died in the 1992 riots, which also caused about $1 billion in damage over six days.

Federal law allows the president to deploy the National Guard if the state is attacked, in the event of an "insurgency or danger of an uprising," or the president is "unable to implement US laws with regular forces."