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Rep. Nanette Barragán of California said Sunday that President Trump should not send National Guard troops to Los Angeles County in response to protests over immigration sweeps that have included violent clashes with federal law enforcement.
Mr. Trump on Saturday deployed 2,000 National Guard members to help deal with demonstrators seeking to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from carrying out deportation raids in Paramount, California.
“I have spoken to the sheriffs on the ground who have said they have things under control,” Ms. Barragán, a Democrat, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “There is no need for the National Guard.”
“They have the manpower that they need,” she said. “So this is really just an escalation of the president coming into California.”
Mr. Trump has the authority to mobilize troops under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, a federal law that allows the president to bypass governors in the chain of command for the National Guard.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Marines at Camp Pendleton “will also be mobilized” if the violence continues.
SEE ALSO: President Trump deploys National Guard to Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE protests
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said that threatening to deploy the Marines is “deranged behavior” and that the Trump administration’s decision to take over the California National Guard is “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle.”
Mr. Trump credited the National Guard with quelling the violence and criticized the response from Mr. Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Ms. Bass, a Democrat, challenged Mr. Trump’s claim, saying that the “National Guard has not been deployed in the city of Los Angeles” and thanking local law enforcement for its response.
Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said Mr. Trump was not “trying to heal or keep the peace.”
“He is looking to inflame and divide,” Mr. Murphy posted on X. “His movement doesn’t believe in democracy or protest — and if they get a chance to end the rule of law they will take it. None of this is on the level.”
Ms. Barragán said nobody disagrees with targeting violent illegal immigrants, but the federal government’s effort at a local Home Depot went too far.
SEE ALSO: Sen. Bernie Sanders warns that Trump ‘moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism’
She said she has been informed that the Trump administration plans to deploy National Guard troops for 30 days. She warned that doing so could further escalate tensions between immigration authorities and protestors, who are frustrated with the mass deportations and the targeting of non-violent illegal immigrants.
“It is only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement,” Ms. Barragán said. “It is going to escalate the situation.”
In his memorandum issued Saturday, Mr. Trump said that attempts to “directly inhibit” immigration authorities from doing their job would be considered “a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
“In addition, violent protests threaten the security of and significant damage to Federal immigration detention facilities and other Federal property,” the memorandum read.
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