Donald Trump’s “Border Czar” Tom Homan said Saturday the administration is planning to send in the National Guard Saturday evening to quell protests in Los Angeles.
“This is about enforcing the law, and again, we’re not going to apologize for doing it,” Homan said on Fox News. He continued: “We’re already ahead of the game. We were already mobilizing. We’re gonna bring National Guard in tonight. We’re gonna continue doing our job. We’re gonna push back on these people, and we’re gonna [enforce] the law.”
On Saturday night, following Homan’s on-camera remarks, both national Democratic and Republican figures were scrambling to figure out if he was just mouthing off, or if the federal troops were actually on their way, or just … what the hell was going on.
Two Trump administration officials say they learned about the alleged National Guard plans from journalists such as Rolling Stone’s who had reached out to them on Saturday evening, asking for clarification.
Homan did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
“The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wrote on Bluesky Saturday evening. “That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
He added, “LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice. We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need. The Guard has been admirably serving LA throughout recovery. This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
The president can request, but not order, a governor to deploy their state’s National Guard. The governor can refuse the request, and Trump would not be allowed under the Constitution to send National Guard troops to California from other states. However, the Trump administration has previously mulled invoking the Insurrection Act, which could allow the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically, federalize the National Guard, and send in troops to quell uprisings or civil disorder.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Newsom.
In October, weeks before the election, Trump spoke about deploying the military and National Guard against “radical left lunatics,” to deal with “the enemy from within.”
On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained hundreds of people in the city, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Saturday marked a second day of protests in Los Angeles over the Trump administration’s immigration policies and roundups.
Videos showed law enforcement shooting non-lethal rounds Saturday at protesters and using flash-bang smoke grenades.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass posted on X Friday that her office had received reports of ICE in the city. “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” she wrote.
“We will not stand for this,” she wrote.
“We will,” FBI Director Kash Patel replied.
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, on Saturday called the protests “an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.” He was writing in response to a video of protesters surrounding a federal detention center.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon for 20,000 National Guard troops to play a role in deportations. They would be used for “guard duty and riot control,” NPR reported Friday. This would be the first time the National Guard is asked to carry out an immigration crackdown within the country, according to Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In 2020, the Trump administration deployed out-of-state National Guard troops during protests in Washington, D.C. following the murder of George Floyd. This move was “unprecedented,” according to Joseph Nunn, counsel in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program.
“Trump has brought complete chaos to our communities,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) tells Rolling Stone. “We were promised that violent non-citizens would be deported. Then he deported a U.S. citizen child with cancer. Yesterday ICE mistakenly detained a deputy U.S. marshal. Nobody asked for this. And Americans are starting to say enough. It’s time for Trump to pause his cruel immigration policies and come to Congress with a transparent and competent plan.”
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