Trump's LA Gambit: White House Created Chaos To Fuel Crackdown

The National Guard deployment reveals a calculated escalation in the administration's authoritarian playbook

National Guard troops from California's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team arrived in downtown Los Angeles early Sunday morning, carrying long guns and deploying an armored vehicle at the federal complex housing the Metropolitan Detention Center. President Trump's deployment of 2,000 troops (so far only 300 Have arrived in LA) represents more than a response to immigration protests—it's a deliberate stress test of American federalism and a preview of how this administration plans to crush local resistance to its agenda.

The legal mechanics matter here. Trump didn't invoke the Insurrection Act, despite inflammatory White House rhetoric about "rebellion against the authority of the United States." Instead, his lawyers reached for an obscure theory called the "protective power"—a constitutional claim that presidents can deploy military force to protect federal property and personnel without congressional authorization.

This distinction isn't academic hairsplitting. The Insurrection Act requires the president to meet specific statutory criteria and provides broad law enforcement powers. The protective power is far more limited, theoretically restricting military personnel to defensive activities around federal facilities. But as Lawfare's Chris Mirasola notes, this theory traces back to President Millard Fillmore's use of troops to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850—not exactly a reassuring historical precedent.

The real tell came from Border Czar Tom Homan's comments in Los Angeles, where he threatened to have the Justice Department prosecute Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom. This isn't about protecting ICE agents—it's about intimidating elected officials who refuse to collaborate with Trump's deportation agenda.

But the deeper story reveals how Stephen Miller engineered this entire confrontation. Two weeks ago, Miller called ICE's top 50 field officials to an emergency meeting in Washington where he "eviscerated" leadership for focusing on criminal aliens instead of law-abiding undocumented workers. When one official pointed out that the administration had publicly promised to prioritize criminals, Miller exploded: "Why aren't you at Home Depot? Why aren't you at 7-Eleven?"

Miller specifically ordered ICE to target day laborer gathering spots, knowing these raids would provoke community responses in heavily Latino neighborhoods. His manufactured crisis began unfolding exactly as planned on Friday with raids in the Fashion District, where ICE agents used flash-bang grenades and pepper spray against protesters outside Ambiance Apparel as dozens of workers were detained inside. The optics were deliberate—federal agents in riot gear confronting desperate families pressing against warehouse windows, searching for detained loved ones.

The confrontation at a Home Depot in Paramount marked a significant escalation on Saturday morning. An hours-long standoff erupted between protesters and federal agents near the Home Depot at 6400 Alondra Boulevard, where day laborers commonly gather seeking work. The predominantly Latino city (82% of residents) became a flashpoint as demonstrators responded to reports of immigration officers targeting individuals at the location.

The scene quickly deteriorated into chaos with protesters chanting "Fuera ICE" ("ICE, get out") while federal agents deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades. Demonstrators blocked streets with overturned Home Depot shopping carts, lit bonfires in the street, and attempted to obstruct a U.S. Marshals Service bus. Border Patrol agents in riot gear formed a skirmish line as protesters, some using cardboard as makeshift shields, approached them.

This escalation continued into Saturday evening, with protests spreading to neighboring Compton where a car was set on fire. By nightfall, several hundred demonstrators had gathered near a doughnut shop in Paramount, with authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back. Downtown Los Angeles saw crowds gathering again outside federal buildings, including the detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began making arrests.