Trial to begin over troop deployment in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - A judge today will hear arguments on whether the Trump administration violated federal law when National Guard soldiers and U.S. Marines were deployed to Los Angeles in June to quell protests over immigration raids.

President Donald Trump's administration federalized California National Guard members and sent them to Los Angeles over the strong objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom and other city leaders after demonstrations erupted June 7 when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carried out "roving raids" and arrested people at various locations.

In a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco, California is asking the court to order the Trump administration to return control of the whatever troops remain in Southern California to the state, and to block the federal government from using military troops in California "to execute or assist in the execution of federal law or any civilian law enforcement functions by any federal agent or officer."   

Trump today announced he would activate National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., to fight crime there, but that is not subject to the San Francisco court.

The U.S. Department of Defense issued a new activation order last week to deploy troops in California for another 90 days, according to a court filing. Weeks earlier, Marines deployed to Los Angeles left, and the Trump administration demobilized most of the California National Guard troops in Southern California.    Newsom wants Breyer to order the Trump administration to permanently halt what the state alleges were illegal troop deployments to Los Angeles. Government attorneys argue that the deployments were legally justified to bolster immigration law enforcement and protect federal buildings.

The trial in San Francisco federal court stems from a June lawsuit filed by Newsom against Trump after the president federalized the California National Guard and sent about 4,000 troops from the National Guard and 700 Marines to the Southland.

Breyer, who oversaw hearings in June, initially sided with California, ordering Trump to return the National Guard to the governor's control. Breyer, the younger brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, determined the National Guard deployment was illegal and violated the Tenth Amendment, which defines power between federal and state governments, and exceeded Trump's statutory authority.

However, a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco found that Trump acted within the law when calling up troops to protect federal buildings and federal employees.

In granting Trump's emergency motion for a stay pending appeal of Breyer's ruling -- which called the federalization unconstitutional -- the appellate court concluded that it is likely Trump lawfully exercised his authority to federalize the National Guard when the president "is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States."   

In other words, the panel found in favor of Trump's argument that the civil unrest in downtown Los Angeles rose to such a level that local law enforcement was unable to protect federal immigration officers while they were carrying out government-ordered arrests and raids, making the military deployment necessary.