Last Friday, JD Vance, the Vice-President of the United States, embarked on a journey to Los Angeles with the aim to meet personnel from the National Guard and Marine Corps. This occurred amidst rising disagreements surrounding the immigration policy enforcement of President Trump. In his capacity as a veteran of the Marine Corps, Vance had an intention to go through the facilities at the Federal Joint Operations Center and a command hub, where dialogues with commanding officials and military members were set to take place, along with Vance delivering a notable speech.
Vance’s voyage to LA, which included a Republican fundraiser on the agenda, took place shortly after a Federal appeals court granted permission to President Trump to keep National Guard forces active in LA, under direct Presidential command. This move saw significant pushback from the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. According to sources, the Governor’s office stated that it was not intimated about Vance’s trip and had expressed the desire to arrange a meeting with the Vice President.
Earlier in the month, protests had spiraled in the Los Angeles vicinity when aggressive immigration enforcement measures were undertaken in locations such as occupational sites and common gathering points of undocumented immigrants – like parking arenas of hardware stores. The President described these protests as an act of rebellion, asserting his stance of deploying National Guard and Marine forces.
At the same time, Governor Newsom argued against the necessity of military involvement, saying that the local authorities had the situation under control. He also emphasized his belief that these troops were unneeded and unwelcomed. Newsom’s assertion points towards an ongoing political friction between state and central government over the issue.
Seemingly, the protests are currently on a downswing. In spite of this, a significant quantity of protesters made their appearance known on Thursday at the Dodger Stadium. Federal agents, their identities veiled, convened in one of the stadium’s parking arenas. Upon request from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, these agents vacated the premises.
Shortly after, Karen Bass, the Mayor of Los Angeles, retracted a previously imposed downtown curfew. This curfew had been established in reaction to the vandalism incidents and confrontations between police and crowds amassed in opposition to the arresting of migrants.
A key victory in court was claimed by the Trump administration, late on Thursday night. Judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled an earlier order and thereby granted Trump the permission to maintain control over the National Guard forces which had been deployed due to the escalating protests over the immigration raids.
A pivotal decision was put on hold as a result of the opinion of the appellate court. A temporary restraining order traced back to U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had been frozen. Judge Breyer had proclaimed Trump’s call for military action over the disapproval of Governor Newsom as an illegitimate act.
Nevertheless, the judicial obstacle encountered is not discouraging the California legal team. It is anticipated that on Friday, the attorneys representing California will request Judge Breyer for a fresh preliminary injunction. This injunction would restore Governor Newsom’s control over the troops stationed in Los Angeles.
Despite the relative calm pervading LA’s protests in recent days, District Judge Charles Breyer elucidated his take on the situation. In his perspective, President Trump had violated the established constitutional authority limits. Breyer stated that a president’s power reaches the extent of controlling state National Guard forces only in occurrences of rebellion or impending rebellion.
But the panel of judges from the appellate court had a discordant point of view. They supported the premise that comprehensive deference should be extended towards the authority of the president, given his dual role as a national leader and commander in chief.