WASHINGTON (AP) — About 500 of the National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, the commander in charge said Wednesday. And while some troops have already gone on such missions, he said it’s too early to say if that will continue even after the protests die down.
Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, speaking in an interview with The Associated Press and ABC, also warned that he expects the protest situation will escalate. “We are expecting a ramp up,” he said, noting that protests across the nation are being planned and discussed now. “I’m focused right here in LA, what’s going on right here. But you know, I think we’re, we’re very concerned.”
Sherman, commander of Task Force 51 that is overseeing the more than 4,000 Guard troops and 700 Marines deployed, initially said that National Guard troops had already temporarily detained some civilians. He later said he was incorrect, and that he had based his comments on photos and footage he had seen that turned out to not be a representation of Guard members in Los Angeles.
He said that as of Wednesday, none of the troops has detained a protester. But he said they have gone through days of training and are prepared to do so if needed. Close to 2,000 of the Guard members have either been out protecting federal facilities or personnel already or are ready to move out, and the Marines will wrap up their training and are expected to be on the streets of Los Angeles as early as Thursday evening, Sherman said.
The decision to have the soldiers provide security on the raids moves troops closer than ever before to carrying out law enforcement actions such as deportations, as President Donald Trump has promised as part of his immigration crackdown.
Active-duty forces are prohibited by law from conducting law enforcement. Sherman said all of the Guard troops and Marines are going through several days of training on civil unrest and crowd control so they know exactly what they can and can’t do.
As an example, Sherman said if Guard members see someone trying to assault a civilian or a law enforcement officer, they are allowed to grab them and hold onto them. Then they would quickly turn them over to law enforcement, who would handcuff the person or arrest them.
The roughly 500 being used to provide security on the raids undergo expanded instruction, legal training and rehearsals with the agents doing the enforcement before they go on those missions. Photos of Guard soldiers providing security for the agents have been circulated by immigration officials.
“We are doing rehearsals with these groups of agents that are doing these missions,” Sherman said. “A crawl, walk, run rehearsal, if you will, so that we fully understand their operations.”
He said he has explained to the agents that “we are not law enforcement. This is not how we train.” And he’s made it clear they have to be very deliberate in how they explain to the troops exactly what they need them to do. At this point, he said, none of the Marines has been trained to go on the immigration raids.
Not all the 500 Guard members have been on missions yet. Sherman said it’s not clear yet if they will, but added that he has full confidence in their ability.
Under routine self-defense guidelines, troops can do whatever is needed to protect themselves or the lives of others.
Active-duty military troops who have been deployed along the southern border also are able to detain people, but only those who cross into the national defense areas created by the Trump administration. Those areas technically have become part of U.S. Army installations in the area, so troops are allowed detain people who step onto base property.
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This story has been corrected. The commander of the troops deployed to Los Angeles initially told the AP that National Guard members had already detained some civilians. He later said his information was incorrect and Guard members have not detained civilians.
Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press
