(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize the National Guard amid riots and protests in Los Angeles County against his administration’s immigration crackdown has polarized many in politics and beyond.
Tensions escalated Saturday in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at a Home Depot in the city of Paramount, south of LA.
Trump has since announced the deployment of 700 active-duty U.S. Marines and more than 4,000 National Guard troops to the area, a move several California officials have slammed as an escalation of chaos.
On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state was suing the Trump administration following weekend protests.
The state has asked the court to set aside Trump’s order to federalize the National Guard.
How can the National Guard be federalized?
Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the National Guard can be federalized when there is a rebellion, the U.S. is invaded, or there is danger of either occurring, and if the president cannot execute U.S. law with regular forces.
“The President may call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws,” the provision reads.
“Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States or, in the case of the District of Columbia, through the commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia,” it says.
What precedent is there?
Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to LA marks the first time a president has sent troops to a state without a governor’s request since 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama in a bid to protect civil rights protestors, per the New York Times.
The LA riots of 1992 were the last time the president called the National Guard. Previous to that was the New York postal strike in 1970, preceded by Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968.