(NewsNation) — As the Anti-ICE protests continue in Los Angeles, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying Predator drones and Black Hawk helicopters to quell the crowds.
According to NewsNation affiliate KTLA, a spokesman for CBP said that the drones are providing “aerial support” for federal agents, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The drones are unarmed, the Department of Homeland Security says. CBP also acknowledged that its air and marine operations were not engaged in the surveillance of First Amendment activities, but that they are “providing officer safety surveillance when requested by officers”.
The Department of Homeland Security flew two high-powered Predator surveillance drones above the anti-ICE protests in the city last week. This was secondary to the operation that saw President Trump deploy the California National Guard and U.S. Marines to the city, despite objections from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“The district court has no authority to usurp the president’s authority as Commander in Chief,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The president exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles.”
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Guard deployment was illegal, and both violated the Tenth Amendment, which defines power between federal and state governments, and exceeded Trump’s statutory authority.
It is not the first time the DHS has flown drones over protests, either. In 2020, the agency dispatched drones over at least 15 cities across the country where people gathered to protest the murder of George Floyd, logging more than 270 hours of surveillance footage.