What is the National Guard at the heart of Trump’s Los Angeles standoff?
Al Jazeera
Trump deploys the California National Guard during immigration protests in Los Angeles.
As United States President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on immigrants and protesters in Los Angeles, it has deployed 2,000 members of the National Guard to aid its efforts.
Trump authorised the deployment after the protests began on Friday, following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of 44 people in the city for violating immigration laws.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, former Vice President Kamala Harris and many other senior leaders of the Democratic Party have criticised Trump’s deployment. They have described the deployment of the National Guard against protesters as a provocation aimed at further inflaming tensions already roiling the country’s second-largest city.
But what is the National Guard, and why is its deployment such a political flashpoint?
The National Guard is a branch of the US military that can perform state and federal functions.
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