LOS ANGELES – The Trump administration is deploying hundreds of active-duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles "to help protect federal agents and buildings" amid protests against the president's immigration enforcement efforts, a senior administration official told Spectrum News.

U.S. Northern Command confirmed the deployment of "approximately 700 Marines" from bases in California to "seamlessly integrate" with the National Guard members on the ground "protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area." Both the Marines and the Guard members have been "trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force," the military claimed.

President Donald Trump federalized the California National Guard over the weekend and deployed them to the LA area over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom and other local officials. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth then threatened to send Marines to the city. Federal law bars the government from using the military for domestic law enforcement unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act.

It is not clear how the administration plans to make a legal justification for the deployment of the Marines.

Late Monday afternoon, Newsom said in a post on X that Trump was sending an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

“This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous president’s ego. This is reckless. Pointless. And disrespectful to our troops,” Newsom wrote.

He said that approximately 300 of the original 2,000 troops were actually deployed while "the rest are sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders."

The administration did not immediately confirm the deployment of the additional 2,000 troops.

When asked earlier on Monday about deploying the Marines, Trump said "we'll see what happens. I mean, I think we have it very well under control. I think it would have been a very bad situation. It was heading in the wrong direction. It's now heading in the right direction."

He also suggested earlier in the day that Newsom should be arrested. California is suing the federal government over the National Guard deployment.

"U.S. Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy. They are heroes," Newsom wrote on social media. "They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American."

Protests resulting from immigration raids in Los Angeles are entered a fourth day on Monday. Authorities also used tear gas and rubber bullets on reporters and demonstrators over the weekend. 

U.S. officials said about 1,000 National Guard members were in the city under federal orders by midday Monday. The first 2,000 members authorized by the president were expected to be on the ground by the end of the day. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of military operations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.