SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The California National Guard arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday morning after President Trump federalized state troops. The move came after Friday immigration raids in and around Los Angeles sparked multiple protests against federal agents. Pockets of violence broke out in some of them. The president ordered at least 2,000 California National Guard troops to respond to the demonstrations. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the move unnecessary and, quote, "purposely inflammatory." It is the first time in 60 years a president has used a rare federal power to deploy National Guard troops without the agreement of a state's governor. In a moment, we will hear from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, but we will start our coverage with NPR's Luke Garrett. Hey, Luke.
LUKE GARRETT, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: Starting out, what exactly is Trump's order, and is he allowed to do this, to take this step without the state agreeing?
GARRETT: In short, yes, he can take control and federalized portions of the California National Guard under a rarely used federal law. But this law does not allow these troops to engage in ordinary law enforcement action, according to Georgetown law professor Stephen Vladeck. This means that the deployed 79th Infantry Brigade of the California National Guard is not authorized to actively face off or use force against protesters. Instead, Trump's action specifically directs these troops to protect and support immigration law enforcement.
DETROW: Could that change, though?
GARRETT: It could. Yes, it could. A more aggressive option is available to the president, and that's declaring the Insurrection Act, which does allow Trump to unleash military force against U.S. civilians. He reportedly wanted to use this extreme power in 2020 during the protests against the murder of George Floyd. And this afternoon, while speaking to reporters, Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act and sending more troops to other cities. Now, this act has not been invoked since 1992 during the race riots in LA. But to be clear, Trump has not made this move yet in this case.
DETROW: In a moment, we're going to hear more about real pushback on the local and state level here. What is the Trump administration saying today to justify this?
GARRETT: So the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem thanked the president for the deployment of the National Guard troops. Here she is on CBS News.
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KRISTI NOEM: They're there at the direction of the president in order to keep peace and allow people to be able to protest, but also to keep law and order.
GARRETT: And Noem justified the deployment by saying local law enforcement failed to quickly protect ICE and DHS officers during immigration raids and the ensuing protests.
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NOEM: When we ask for backup in a situation, LAPD has waited hours to respond, and they've waited until we have an officer in a dangerous situation until they come in.
GARRETT: Now, local law enforcement officials say they have responded and supported federal agents when they called for help. I just got off the phone with LAPD, and they told me that they responded to these calls for help within 55 minutes, not hours.
DETROW: NPR's Luke Garrett, thanks so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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