Los Angeles (United States): Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over what he calls an “illegal and authoritarian” deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. The decision has led to an escalation of the already strained relationship between California and the federal government.
What began as a wave of protests against immigration raids has now snowballed into a full-blown constitutional showdown between Sacramento and Washington.
Over the weekend, Los Angeles erupted as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested dozens of undocumented immigrants from city streets. The sweeping raids triggered mass protests. Demonstrators blocked freeways and clashed with the police – demanding an end to what they called a “militarised war on migrants”.
By Monday, nearly 2,000 National Guard troops had been dispatched to the city under direct orders from the White House – a move Governor Newsom says was made without his knowledge or consent.
“This is not only about California. This is about a president who believes he can federalise any state’s National Guard, bypassing governors, the Constitution and the people. It is illegal. It is immoral. And we are going to court,” Newsom said in an appearance on MSNBC.
The governor took to social media as well and warned that Trump’s executive order could set a dangerous precedent. “What he has done in L.A., he can now do in any state. We will not allow California to be his testing ground for tyranny,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is a California native, too joined the chorus and accused Trump of “manufacturing a crisis to inflame division and distract from his own failures”.
The protests began last Friday after ICE conducted raids in several neighborhoods. The crackdown led to the arrest of at least 44 undocumented immigrants. Demonstrators quickly flooded the streets and accused federal authorities of targeting vulnerable communities and acting with little regard for due process.
The police responded with tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets. The unrest intensified over the weekend and prompted Trump to invoke what he called a “necessary federal intervention”.
“These are not protesters, they are insurrectionists. Governor Gavin Newsom and ‘Mayor’ Bass have lost control of their city. They should apologise to the people of Los Angeles for this disaster,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
However, city officials flatly rejected Trump’s narrative. While coordinating emergency response efforts, LA Mayor Karen Bass condemned the federal intervention as “reckless and inflammatory”.
Legal experts say Newsom’s lawsuit could spark a constitutional battle over the limits of federal power. While the president does have authority to federalise the National Guard in rare situations, doing so without state consent – particularly for domestic law enforcement – is legally murky.
“Trump is testing the boundaries of presidential power in ways we have not seen in decades. If the courts side with Newsom, it could rein in executive overreach. If they don’t, it could open the door to more unilateral deployments in the future,” said Dr. Emily Serrano, a constitutional law professor at UCLA.
As tensions continue to rise in the streets and now in the courts, Los Angeles has become the latest flashpoint in the nation’s deepening political divide. Whether this battle is resolved by judges or ballots remains to be seen. But for now, California is sending a message it will not back down.
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