Trump's Trials - Why does Trump call LA protests a 'rebellion'? DHS official responds

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, tells NPR's Steve Inskeep why the administration sent the National Guard and U.S. Marines to LA. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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So listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY. I'm Steve Inskeep. I'm Michelle Martin. I'm Amy Martinez. A curfew was in effect here in Los Angeles last night. Mayor Karen Bass said it only covered the one square mile area of downtown LA where protests happened last weekend. Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew and you will be prosecuted. Police arrested about 25 people on suspicion of violating the order. That's the backdrop for a nationwide debate over immigration, protests, and the use of federal power. The curfew came after protests against immigration raids and after President Trump took federal

control of National Guard unions and after President Trump took federal control of National Guard units, and after he sent in U.S. Marines. Our colleague, Adrian Florido, followed what was happening in L.A. during daylight hours yesterday. All day crowds gathered outside the downtown federal building where ICE has its offices. National Guard troops blocked the entrances, and lines of police kept protesters at a distance. There was no sign yet of the 700 Marines President Trump called into the city. Protesters waved Mexican flags. Some shouted into officers' faces.

Dozens stormed onto a nearby freeway. They were arrested. But this was all contained within a couple of blocks. Across the rest of this vast city, daily life went on, and so did the immigration raids that federal officials have vowed will continue. The details on the ground matter in the debate that follows. People threw rocks and other objects and police and burned several cars in a small part of the city. President Trump used that to describe a city on the edge of

destruction. He delivered a campaign-style rally before U.S. Army troops in North Carolina. We will not allow federal agents to be attacked and we will not allow an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy. And that's what they are. The president's story changed during the day. He claimed that California's governor and the L.A. mayor were financing the protests. Later, he took that back while alleging somebody must be doing that. California Governor Gavin Newsom used the details on the ground to describe a vast abuse

of power. Newsom delivered a speech to the cameras that some TV networks carried live last night. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him. Now, the president had taken two rare steps. He took federal control of California National Guard units without the governor's approval, and he sent active-duty U.S. Marines to police and American City.

California sued, saying the president exceeded his power under a law that allows him to use troops against a rebellion and also that the troops aren't needed. A judge declined to immediately block the troops from some duties but scheduled a hearing for tomorrow. So what is the purpose of this deployment? We called Trisha McLaughlin, who's an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, which includes immigration enforcement. We spoke early Tuesday, LA time, so this reflects events on the ground up to then.

How is the administration using the National Guard? A lot of different ways, Steve. Crowd control, also defense of these federal buildings. We've seen these federal buildings be defaced, threatening language on them, kill ICE, kill America, death to America. So we just really need more resources on the ground. Steve, we saw on Friday about a thousand protesters were surrounding ICE enforcement in a federal building, far outnumbering them. And then

we saw that again on Sunday, about 6,000 protesters, again, vastly outnumbering our ICE enforcement officers. So this is really just greater resources, and largely part for crowd control. This is part of my question, is there some specific capability that the guard has that the police do not, or that ICE does not? No, I think it's more boots on the ground. It's more men and women in uniform,

making sure that law enforcement's safe, our federal property's safe, and that those protesters are safe as well. Right now, we've seen out of the leadership of Governor Newsom and Karen Bass that things have not been peaceful, they have not been smooth, and so that's something we want to return law and order. Alan Ross Marines have been sent into Los Angeles. It's very early, but what skills do the Marines have that apply in this particular urban situation

that even the National Guard does not have? Well, it's the same as the National Guard. These are highly trained members of our military. They have means to control crowds, especially when things get out of control with rioters. We've seen our members of law enforcement being pummeled with rocks. We've seen fires, cars being lit on fire. And like I said before, buildings and public property being defaced and otherwise assaulting ICE enforcement officers.

So these are highly trained members of the military and they have means of regaining control. I've seen the video and the photos of the cars. That's certainly true. But I think about the role of the military and what Secretary Pete Hickseth wants the military to do. He's emphasized a focus on the mission, which he defines as lethality and readiness, meaning readiness for combat. How does sending Marines to protect buildings and cars in Los Angeles match up with that mission, if at all?

Well, I think at the end of the day, Steve, Americans want peace and we want peace abroad and we want peace on our own home soil. And unfortunately, if Governor Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass are not going to call down the rioters who are assaulting our law enforcement, then we do need to bring in the military to make sure we have the resources on the ground. This country is safe and that we can restore law and order. Okay. The president's memorandum in sending National Guard troops to California said that the protests can be construed as a kind of rebellion. That's the word that's used. I

want to see how we can understand this as a rebellion. I would think of a rebellion as a group of people where they have a leader and an objective. Are you able to identify who's in charge of this rebellion? I think that there's major questions right now, Steve, about who is financially backing these protests. There's some activity on the ground that it seems that is highly coordinated and that there might be a financial backer that could

be even a foreign adversary. And we are having the IRS and the FBI look farther into who might be backing these protests. Pete Slauson The IRS, that's interesting. Why are they involved? Courtney Bates Financial backing? Pete Slauson Got it. So, you think that there might be some tax record of this or something that the Treasury Department would investigate? Courtney Bates Well, IRS does financial investigations as well.

Looking nationally, how many people did the United States deport last month? Last month, I don't have that number on my hand. Now, I'd have to get back to you on that. I know deportations are around, in the last 125 days, about 150,000. 150,000 in 125 days. So I'm just trying to do a quick bit of math there. Yeah. So that's 30 or 40,000 a month is what you believe you're doing? Probably roughly.

I mean, I think we've been definitely able to ramp up efforts. I mean, we did inherit, you know, a very broken ice, a very broken CBP, people who were not able to do their jobs for the last four years We're ballparking on the numbers here because we don't know the exact number for this year But it seems that the rate of deportations is higher than the average under President Biden But still considerably lower than the average under President Trump or President Obama Why do you think it has been difficult to get the numbers up? or President Obama. Why do you think it has been difficult

to get the numbers up? Well, we have been facing a historic number of injunctions, Steve, as you know, at the hands of a lot of these judges. We knew that coming in now. I think it's a matter of partially of resources. We do need to pass this bill by Congress to make sure we give our ICE enforcement officers

more resources, especially in the face of these kinds of protests. But further than that, these officers haven't been allowed to do their jobs for the last four years. So you're going from zero to a hundred very quickly because they're once again empowered to do their jobs. Um, the Obama administration faced the same legal constraints that you do. The first Trump administration faced the same legal constraints. Stephanie Slauson I would definitely counter that.

This is the most injunctions in American history under a single president. Absolutely. Steve, look at the numbers. Pete Slauson I mean, it's the same fundamental court system. Could that have to do with what the administration has done rather than the judges suddenly changing? Stephanie Slauson No, I think, I mean, take the case of Kilmar Obrego Garcia, take the case of the eight heinous convicted individuals who had final deportation orders out of South Sudan, those eight individuals and the Massachusetts judge ordering that they come back.

This is unprecedented. Why on earth do we have district judges who so desperately want to bring child rapists and killers who have been convicted and have final deportation orders back to US soil? It is pure activism, Steve, and it's quite disturbing, really. I guess we should note that the Supreme Court unanimously, among other courts, have insisted that people may well be terrorists, but that their cases should be heard in court. And that does lead to one more question since you brought up Kilmore Abrego Garcia. You brought him back to the United States to face criminal charges. I guess he'll get his day

in court and he's facing quite an indictment. But the administration said for months that he could not be brought back. Now that the United States has brought him back, would you agree that it was always possible to bring him back? Danielle Pletka I would leave that to the Department of Justice, but I think that what really matters here, Steve, is the egg on the face of a lot of Democrats in the media who have been hell-bent on saying that this is an innocent Maryland man. They've been saying that for months was a full-time

human trafficker Allegedly, I have to counter what you said Steve because I completely disagree I think the environment that we're in from a judicial standpoint is far far different than anything under Obama or even under the first Administration of President Trump. I I just don't understand because it's many of the same judges Why do you think they suddenly changed? Well, I mean, I don't know if it is the same judges, but I think that there's a lifetime appointments hundreds of them would be the same people. I think there's a lot of politically ambitious judges, Steve.

Just to clarify, you said you'd leave it to the Department of Justice. I understand. But given that it is now clear that it was possible to bring him back, why did the government not previously bring him back? I mean, there's, of course, you've heard the facilitate versus effectuate argument multiple times. He is now Kimora Brega Garcia before was not facing a grand jury in Tennessee, and now he is.

So the facts on the ground have changed. Trisha McLaughlin, thank you so much. I appreciate you taking the time and the questions. Trisha McLaughlin Thank you, Steve. Appreciate you having me. Alan Ross She's the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. show without sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a

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