What to know about Trump's deployment of the Marines and National Guard to LA's immigration protests

LOS ANGELES — A cloud of uncertainty hung over Los Angeles on Tuesday, as Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for a small portion of the city to stop the vandalism that some local business owners and residents have grown weary of.

City officials say opportunists have come in to smash storefronts and loot businesses after peaceful protesters leave.

Questions remained over the role that Marines and National Guard troops would play after being called in by President Donald Trump amid protests over immigration raids in the area.

The 700 Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area, but they hadn't been called to respond to the protests as of Tuesday afternoon and were only there to protect federal officials and property, the Marine Corps commandant said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who objected to Trump's deployment of troops, including roughly 4,000 National Guard members, filed an emergency motion in federal court seeking to block them from being used to assist with immigration raids. The governor's request said it was in response to a change in orders that had been issued for the Guard.

It appears to be the first time in decades that a state's National Guard was activated without a request from its governor. Trump said in a social media post that the city would have been ''completely obliterated'' if he hadn't sent Guard members to the city over the weekend.

Here are some things to know about the lawsuit, the protests and the troop deployments:

Mayor Karen Bass pinned the unrest at some of the LA protests squarely on the Trump administration, saying Tuesday that there was ''nothing going on here that warranted the federal intervention.''

She also said she was mystified about why the Marines were sent.

''People have asked me what are the Marines going to do when they get here? That's a good question. I have no idea,'' she said at a news conference.

She also called out Trump for suggesting the National Guard, not local police, quelled the violence that did happen, noting that Trump made the claim in a Saturday night tweet but that the first Guard troops didn't arrive until Sunday.

''If you want to know what the National Guard is doing, drive by the federal building. They are stationary at the federal building protecting the building," she said. "They are not out doing crowd control or anything like that. So I don't know how he could say that the National Guard is who saved the day. Who saved the day was our local law enforcement agencies.''

Newsom versus Trump

In a public address Tuesday evening, Newsom called Trump's actions the start of an ''assault'' on democracy.

''California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next,'' he said.

The governor filed an emergency request earlier in the day seeking to block the Trump administration from using the Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids.

Photos posted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed National Guard troops standing guard around officers as they made arrests.

Trump and Newsom have been feuding over the immigration raids and protests, with the president and his border czar, Tom Homan, trading taunts with the governor about the possibility of arresting Newsom if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

''I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great,'' Trump said.

In a post Monday, Newsom called the deployment of Marines ''a blatant abuse of power."

What's the mood in the city?

Downtown Los Angeles was fairly quiet Tuesday morning, with Guard members outnumbering protesters. Several Guard members were stationed in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal lockup where some immigrants are being held, with long guns and wooden bats slung over their shoulders.

A few dozen protesters gathered peacefully around noon in front of the federal complex, which was quickly declared an unlawful assembly. Police made several arrests. Demonstrators at one point blocked a highway, and some were arrested.

The mayor declared a curfew from 8 p.m. until to 6 a.m. Wednesday in a 1-square-mile (2.6-square-kilometer) section of downtown, with exceptions for residents, homeless people, credentialed journalists and public safety and emergency officials,

Monday's demonstrations were less raucous than Sunday's, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall to denounce Friday's arrest of union leader David Huerta, who was protesting the immigration raids, and hundreds rallying outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center.

What's behind the demonstrations?

The protests have been driven by anger over Trump's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are tearing apart migrant families. They started Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to neighboring Compton and the city of Paramount.

Demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles by hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.

The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many have also been arrested while protesting.

What's happening elsewhere?

Protest over immigration raids have happening in major cities throughout the country, including on Tuesday, though none have reached the scale of those in Los Angeles.

The demonstrations from Boston to Seattle have ranged from gatherings outside of federal office buildings or statehouses, and marches through downtown neighborhoods.

Authorities appeared to use chemical irritants to disperse a crowd, and the city's police chief said Tuesday that four officers were injured during the protests, including three who were struck by thrown rocks.

In Dallas, hundreds of people demonstrated on a city bridge for hours before police determined the rally to be ''unlawful.'' Police said one person was arrested and that charges were pending.

In Omaha, Nebraska, immigration authorities raided at least one meat processing plant Tuesday, triggering small protests. It wasn't clear how many workers might have been detained.

''No Kings'' rallies critical of Trump are planned nationwide Saturday to coincide with the president's scheduled military parade in Washington.

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