The role of the National Guard is to protect federal agents, including ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel, as they carry out their duties.
The US Marines, too, lack the authority to make arrests and are tasked only with protection duties.
So the troops will not be conducting their own immigration raids or performing regular policing – which remains the role of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
There are exceptions under which federal troops can be used for civilian law enforcement – for example under the Insurrection Act.
Although Trump has threatened to invoke that act in the past, during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, for example, he has not done so here.
Who is ICE deporting?
The recent raids are part of the president’s aim to enact the “biggest deportation operation” in US history. Los Angeles, where over one-third of the population is born outside of the US, has been a key target for operations.
In early May, ICE announced it had arrested 239 undocumented migrants during a week-long operation in the LA area, as overall arrests and deportations lagged behind Trump’s expectations.
The following month, the White House increased its goal for ICE officials to make at least 3,000 arrests per day.
Authorities have expanded their search increasingly to include workplaces such as restaurants and retail shops.
The ambitious deportation campaign has included removing migrants to a mega-prison in El Salvador, including at least one who was in the US legally. Many of Trump’s actions have been met by legal challenges.
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