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California Democrats pushed back after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to respond to anti-immigration raid protests in the Los Angeles area, with Gov. Gavin Newsom arguing that Trump is trying to “manufacture a crisis.”
“Trump is sending 2,000 National Guard troops into LA County — not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis. He’s hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control,” Newsom said Sunday on X, where he also urged people to “stay peaceful.”
Trump deployed the National Guard despite Newsom’s opposition. Guard soldiers can be deployed by governors or the federal government, though it is unusual for a president to call the National Guard into federal service in a state where the governor objects, according to experts.
Trump further escalated his efforts to tamp down the protests Sunday, directing the heads of several federal agencies “to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles” and end the protest, which he characterized as “migrant riots.”
“Violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations,” Trump wrote. “Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free.”
While it is unclear what action Trump’s administration will take in response to his call to “liberate Los Angeles,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said active-duty Marines would be mobilized “if violence continues.”
Several California Democrats criticized the administration’s response to the protests as “inflammatory,” “reckless” and escalatory.
The administration has painted the White House’s response to what it calls “left-wing radicals” as an effort to maintain law and order. At the same time, Democrats feared the administration’s response could ratchet up tensions, ultimately inflaming the situation rather than subduing it.
Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, who represents a Los Angeles-area district, said on to X that he agreed with Newsom’s assessment that “Trump’s take over of the CA National Guard is purposefully inflammatory.”
Rep. Nanette Barragán, a Democrat who also represents a Los Angeles-area district, also condemned the deployment.
“We haven’t asked for the help. We don’t need the help. This is him escalating it, causing tensions to rise,” Barragán said of Trump in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It’s only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement.”
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, a former senator from California and state attorney general, said the deployment is meant to “provoke chaos” and accused the Trump administration of aiming to “spread panic and division” through its large-scale immigration raids.
“This Administration’s actions are not about public safety — they’re about stoking fear,” Harris, a Los Angeles resident, wrote in a statement.
Protesters and law enforcement clashed Saturday, with some protesters throwing objects and law enforcement deploying pepper balls and flash-bangs. Videos also showed looting and a car on fire. Protests initially began in response to immigration enforcement operations as the Trump administration has made mass deportations a centerpiece of its domestic policy.
The political fallout was along party lines, with Republican lawmakers criticizing the protests and Democrats pushing against the White House’s response. In an overnight post to Truth Social, Trump praised the National Guard’s actions in Los Angeles, though the guard had not yet arrived in the city, Newsom pointed out.
National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles on Sunday.
On Sunday, a group of California Democrats said they went to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility to “conduct Congressional oversight” but were denied entry. One of them, Rep. Gil Cisneros, characterized ICE as having been “on a rampage going through Los Angeles, just rounding up people.”
White House representatives did not immediately respond to questions about Democrats’ criticism. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post Saturday night that “Democrats refuse to condemn this despicable behavior but this will NOT be tolerated by the Trump Administration.”
Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller appeared to be referring to the protests when he said on X: “We’ve been saying for years this is a fight to save civilization. Anyone with eyes can see that now.”
Additional protests were planned Sunday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., responded Sunday to a question about Hegseth’s floating the deployment of active-duty Marines in response to the protest.
Johnson emphasized the importance of “maintaining peace through strength,” adding on ABC News’ “This Week”: “I don’t think that’s heavy-handed. I think that’s an important signal.”
When ABC News co-anchor Jonathan Karl interjected to push Johnson further, Johnson said, “We have to be prepared to do what is necessary.”
“I think the notice that that might happen might have the deterring effect,” Johnson said of Hegseth’s warning.
