NJ Decries Trump's 'Unlawful' Deployment Of Military During ICE Protests

NEW JERSEY - New Jersey joined 17 other states on Tuesday in condemning President Trump's deployment of the National Guard in California without coordination with state leadership to patrol the streets as immigration raid protests continue.

Troops touched down on Sunday as dozens were arrested in Los Angeles and San Francisco over the weekend. Fires, looting and violence grew from tensions between crowds of protesters and law enforcement in the wake of recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity to detain people in the state.

According to the AP, more than 100 people have been detained in California alone since Friday.

(Fernando Haro/Patch)

On Saturday, President Trump invoked a legal provision that allowed him to deploy federal service members when there is "a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

"The president's decision...is unlawful, unconstitutional, and undemocratic...The federal administration should be working with local leaders to keep people safe, not mobilizing the military against the American people," New Jersey's Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin proclaimed on Tuesday.

Link to Full Statement

According to the AP, there are 2,000 National Guard troops that have been deployed in the downtown areas of Los Angeles, with another 2,000 expected to join them on Thursday. An additional 700 Marines are undergoing civil disturbance training in preparation to aid in the efforts. The National Guard is also "on standby" now in Texas, after police in Austin used chemicals to disperse hundreds of protesters on Monday.

Demonstrations have now taken place all across the United States, stretching from Seattle all the way to Washington, D.C. The New York Police Department detained more than 80 people on Tuesday night, just in Lower Manhattan, within a crowd that reached around 2,500 people.

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Rubber bullet found in Los Angeles (Fernando Haro/Patch)

Protesters in New Jersey are planning to join various other states on Saturday, June 14 in carrying out "No Kings" anti-Trump demonstrations on his 79th birthday. The rallies are being organized independently across the nation by local advocacy groups and community members, and coincide with a massive military parade scheduled in Washington D.C. to celebrate 250 years of the U.S. Army and Flag Day.

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