President Donald Trump has issued a warning that he is prepared to send troops into other U.S. cities if unrest similar to what occurred in Los Angeles spreads elsewhere, saying future deployments would come with “greater force.” His remarks follow the deployment of 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to violent clashes tied to federal immigration raids, particularly incidents targeting ICE agents carrying out deportation orders.
Although the raids are being conducted under federal legal authority, protests erupted after claims surfaced that detainees were being held in the basement of a federal building an allegation ICE strongly denied, calling the reports false and misleading. The situation has further intensified tensions between federal immigration enforcement and sanctuary jurisdictions, with Trump expanding deportation powers through executive orders and by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime statute not typically used in modern immigration policy.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the Los Angeles deployment could be just the beginning. He indicated that similar actions could occur nationwide as his mass deportation plan moves forward. “This wasn’t even a strong response,” he said. “If it happens again elsewhere, they’ll be met with equal or greater force than what we saw in Los Angeles.” Trump added that the unrest in L.A. had calmed only because of the overwhelming show of military presence. “If they weren’t met with that force, that city would’ve burned to the ground,” he said.
Anti-ICE protests are now spreading to cities including New York, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., with a wave of coordinated demonstrations planned nationwide for June 14 Trump’s birthday. The president warned that future protests would not be tolerated if they turned disorderly. “If any protester wants to come out there, they will be met with very big force,” he stated.
The decision to deploy federal troops without California Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval has ignited fierce backlash. In a public address, Newsom accused Trump of escalating an already fragile situation and undermining the very foundation of democratic governance. “This is a turning point,” Newsom warned. “Trump’s dragnet isn’t targeting dangerous criminals it’s sweeping up ordinary people: dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers, seamstresses. This isn’t law enforcement; it’s intimidation.”
Newsom warned that other states may soon face the same federal overreach. “What’s happening in California won’t stop here. Democracy itself is next,” he said.
California has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing the president of violating the Constitution by federalizing part of the state’s National Guard without gubernatorial consent. The legal challenge argues that Trump’s use of Title 10 authority and potential invocation of the Insurrection Act exceeds the limits of executive power and breaches state sovereignty.
This marks the first time a president has overridden a governor’s authority to deploy the National Guard since 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators.