‘Not your immigration police’: Judge rules Trump broke law with National Guard deployment in LA

A federal judge has handed California a legal victory in its clash with US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, ruling that the Trump administration violated federal law when it sent National Guard troops into Los Angeles to back up federal agents during immigration enforcement protests.US District Judge Charles Breyer issued the decision Tuesday, declaring the move unlawful under the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th-century law that bars the military from enforcing civilian laws. California had sued last year, arguing the deployment amounted to using soldiers as domestic police.The Trump administration countered that the troops were merely protecting federal officers, not conducting arrests themselves, and therefore exempt from the restrictions.

Lawyers for the administration argued the president had authority to call up the Guard under national security provisions.While Breyer agreed the law had been broken, he stopped short of ordering the withdrawal of remaining troops, leaving open questions about enforcement and accountability.California officials hailed the ruling as a rebuke of Trump’s “heavy-handed” tactics. “The Constitution is clear: we don’t turn our military into immigration police,” one state lawyer said after the decision.The ruling underscores the continuing legal battles over Trump-era immigration policies and the limits of presidential power when it comes to deploying military forces on American soil.