WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced criticism on Tuesday after the military response over immigration law enforcement.
Trump and Hegseth mobilized the National Guard and Marines to respond to protests in Los Angeles after aggressive federal raids and deportations.
Trump vowed to “liberate” Los Angeles during his address to troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.
“Generations of Army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores to be destroyed by invasion and third world lawlessness like what’s happening here at home,” Trump said during his speech.
The protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detentions spread to Santa Ana, Seattle, Omaha, Boston, Chicago, Austin, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.
“We are not interested in your woke garbage or political correctness,” Hegseth said during his speech at Fort Bragg.
Hegseth had met with House Appropriations defense subcommittee members who learned that the 60-day military deployments to Los Angeles were going to cost $134 million.
“We are entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,” Hegseth said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was outraged: “What was the reason the president had to take the power from the governor and federalize the National Guard?”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the courts to intervene.
“The absurdity of this cannot be understated,” Newsom said about the military deployments to Los Angeles.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed to continue immigration law enforcement.
