When President Donald Trump put 2,000 National Guard troops under his control on Saturday night and ordered them into Los Angeles, it was billed as an urgent response to quell protests. But it was also a move long in the making.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says President Trump is "escalating the situation" by sending troops to L.A., adding fuel to the feud between the two

Todd Lyons, the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended his tactics last week week against criticism that authorities are being too heavy-handed. He has said ICE is averaging about 1,600 arrests per day and that the agency has arrested “dangerous criminals.” It is an assertion many lawmakers and city leaders decry.

The memo obtained by NPR says troops would be used in activities, including in "night operations and rural interdiction," as well as "guard duty and riot control" inside detention facilities.

On Tuesday, the X page for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posted photos of California National Guardsmen on the scene of a detention being carried out by an ICE agent with the caption "Photos from today's ICE Los Angeles immigration enforcement operation."

Soldiers mobilized by President Trump protected ICE agents on their raids in Los Angeles. The state of California said the deployment was illegal.

Anti-ICE protests continue in Los Angeles after the National Guard was deployed following immigration enforcement actions.

Armed National Guard troops are accompanying immigration agents as they carry out mass deportation raids on the streets of Los Angeles.

In a statement responding to Saturday protests, Mayor Keith Wilson pledged that Portland police will uphold the law in the city, but will “not be used as agents of ICE.”