President Donald Trump has deployed more military personnel to Los Angeles to suppress domestic protests than the U.S. currently has stationed in Iraq and Syria combined, according to figures published this week by the Pentagon and reported by ABC News. The aggressive mobilization—consisting of 4,000 National Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines—marks a historic and controversial escalation in the administration’s crackdown on dissent, particularly in response to protests against its sweeping immigration enforcement policies.
The comparison, first reported by ABC on Tuesday, reveals that 4,700 troops are now present in Los Angeles, while the U.S. has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 2,000 in Syria. Both countries have seen decades of American-led military intervention, making the heavier deployment on U.S. soil a striking display of force.
While the Pentagon has frequently obscured troop levels abroad, the publicized numbers show the Trump administration’s willingness to prioritize military action at home over ongoing global operations. Analysts and historians describe the move as unprecedented and potentially illegal, invoking comparisons to past domestic military crackdowns that ended in tragedy and intensified unrest.
The protests in Los Angeles erupted following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants. One of the arrested was SEIU California president David Huerta, who was injured while observing a raid and has become a flashpoint in the ensuing demonstrations. The American Civil Liberties Union’s Victor Leung called the military deployment “a declaration of war on all Californians.”
“The Trump administration’s baseless deployment of the National Guard is plainly retaliation against California, a stronghold for immigrant communities,” Leung said. “They yell ‘invasion’ at the border—but this is the real one: Trump is seizing control of California’s National Guard and forcing 2,000 troops into our streets.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom echoed that concern. “The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers,” Newsom said. “That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
He added: “This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) called the deployment “completely inappropriate and misguided,” while Representative Norma Torres (D-Calif.) said, “They yell ‘invasion’ at the border—but this is the real one: Trump is seizing control of California’s National Guard and forcing 2,000 troops into our streets.”
In addition to the deployment of the National Guard, Trump ordered 700 active-duty Marines into the city—an action historians say is without precedent in the modern era of domestic protest. The Marines have been placed on high alert at Camp Pendleton, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stating, “If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized—they are on high alert.”
Governor Newsom responded to Hegseth’s statement with alarm: “The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior.”
“This is an abuse of power and what dictators do. It’s unnecessary and not needed,” said Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.).
The Department of Homeland Security has also proposed deploying an additional 20,000 National Guard troops nationwide to assist with immigration enforcement—an operation that would cost $3.6 billion and approach the scale of U.S. military engagement across the entire Middle East.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared to take further steps toward violating federal law by requesting that military personnel arrest protesters. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle, Noem wrote that the Pentagon should direct military forces “to either detain, just as they would at any federal facility guarded by military, lawbreakers under Title 18 until they can be arrested and processed by federal law enforcement, or arrest them.”
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits such actions, barring the use of military force in domestic law enforcement without explicit congressional approval. Syracuse University law professor William Banks warned that Noem’s letter “could be a step toward the invocation of the Insurrection Act.”
Legal experts and lawmakers noted that local authorities had not requested federal intervention. “This could be viewed as a preparation for invoking the Insurrection Act, or it could be viewed as part of a larger effort to frighten people who otherwise would exercise their First Amendment guarantee of free speech and protest,” said Stephen Dycus, professor emeritus at Vermont Law and Graduate School.
Despite reports of largely peaceful protests, Trump has characterized demonstrators as “insurrectionists” and framed the protests as a “rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” A memo signed Saturday night federalized 2,000 National Guard troops under Title 10 authority—sidestepping the Insurrection Act but still authorizing their use to protect federal agencies like ICE and DHS.
“The law may well allow President Trump to do what he did Saturday night,” wrote Georgetown University law professor Steve Vladeck. “But just because something is legal does not mean that it is wise—for the present or future of our Republic.”
During the demonstrations, ICE agents reportedly fired flash-bang grenades, pepper balls, and tear gas into crowds, and one protester was arrested after driving a vehicle toward federal agents. In another case, attorneys from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center said ICE agents threw a tear-gas canister at them after they asked to see a warrant.
“There is no rational reason to deploy the National Guard on Angelenos, who are rightfully outraged by the federal government’s attack on our communities and justly exercising their First Amendment right to protest the violent separation of our families,” Leung said. “We intend to file suit and hold this administration accountable and to protect our communities from further attacks.”
Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) warned that “Trump isn’t trying to heal or keep the peace. He is looking to inflame and divide. 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.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) added: “Trump’s authoritarianism in real time.”
The labor movement also responded forcefully to the arrest of Huerta. National Nurses United condemned the ICE raids, writing: “We refuse to be silent, and people like David Huerta are bravely putting their own bodies on the line to bear witness to what ICE is doing. It’s appalling that ICE injured and detained him while he was exercising his First Amendment rights.”
AFL-CIO leaders Liz Shuler and Fred Redmond issued a joint statement calling Huerta’s detention “a violation of David’s civil liberties and the freedoms this country holds dear.” They continued: “The labor movement stands with David, and we will continue to demand justice for our union brother until he is released.”
Despite widespread opposition, ABC 7 reported that National Guard troops had arrived in downtown Los Angeles and the city of Paramount by Sunday morning. Local officials warned that the presence of thousands of military personnel could escalate the situation further, rather than de-escalating tensions.
“This is [President Trump] escalating it, causing tensions to rise,” Rep. Barragán said. “It’s only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement.”
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