A California court will Thursday hear arguments in the suit by Governor Gavin Newsom asking a federal court to block the Trump administration from using the National Guard and Marines to assist in ICE raids across Los Angeles.
The California Governor argued that this would only cause tensions to soar further and trigger further civil unrest.
The Trump administration said Newsom was seeking an unprecedented and dangerous order that would interfere with its ability to conduct enforcement operations. A judge set a hearing for Thursday.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles is reeling from a ten-hour curfew for downtown city which took effect on Tuesday as officials attempted to stop vandalism and looting during protests over US President Donald Trump’s immigration raids.
The city’s mayor Karen Bass said the curfew would run from 8 pm on Tuesday to 6 am on Wednesday local time, as she declared a local emergency. “We reached a tipping point” after 23 businesses were looted, Bass said.
The curfew will be in place in an area covering a just over 2.5 square kilometre section of downtown, including the area where protests have been raging since Friday. The city of Los Angeles encompasses 2,295 square kilometres.
The curfew does not apply to residents who live in the designated area, those who are homeless, credentialed media or public safety and emergency officials, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
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McDonnell said “unlawful and dangerous behaviour” has been escalating since Saturday, prompting the need to impose the curfew.
“The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city,” said McDonnell.
Newsom accuses Trump of subverting democracy
Meanwhile, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of “pulling a military dragnet” across Los Angeles, after the leader ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines despite Newsom’s objections.
Troops were deployed to protect federal buildings but are now also protecting immigration agents as they conduct arrests.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the troops were providing security at federal facilities and protecting federal officers “who are out on daily enforcement operations.”
Newsom says Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone far beyond simply arresting criminals and that “dishwashers, gardeners, day labourers and seamstresses” are among those being detained.
He said Trump’s decision to deploy the California National Guard without his support should serve as a warning to other states as to the kind of disregard to federal laws the incumbent administration is willing to engage in.
“California may be first — but it clearly won’t end here,” warned Newsom.
