A coalition of former U.S. Army and Navy Secretaries along with retired four-star admirals and generals has submitted a striking amici curiae brief to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, expressing deep concerns over the recent federal deployment of National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests against federal immigration enforcement actions.

The brief, filed in the case Gavin Newsom, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., argues that the deployment of approximately 2,700 military personnel—including 2,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines—was conducted without invoking the Insurrection Act, a statute that traditionally governs the use of federal troops for domestic law enforcement. The deployment also proceeded despite objections from California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and assurances from the Los Angeles Police Department that it could manage the protests without federal intervention.

The former military officials, who collectively served under presidents from John F. Kennedy through Barack Obama, caution that domestic military deployments should be rare, strictly legal, and carefully calibrated to avoid undermining the military’s core missions. They highlight three primary concerns:

1. Diversion from Core Missions: The National Guard and Marines have national security and disaster response roles. Deploying them for law enforcement duties risks degrading their readiness and availability for emergencies such as California’s ongoing wildfire season and other natural disasters.
2. Lack of Law Enforcement Training: Military personnel are not trained for the complexities of domestic law enforcement, which requires specialized skills in de-escalation, constitutional protections, and community engagement. The brief warns that limited training and unclear mission parameters may jeopardize both troop and public safety.
3. Politicization of the Military: The brief underscores the fundamental principle that the U.S. military must remain apolitical. Deploying troops in politically charged domestic contexts, especially without state consent, risks eroding public trust, damaging troop morale, and undermining recruitment and retention. The former leaders point to recent statements by President Trump that have politicized the military’s role in the protests, including derogatory remarks about Governor Newsom and calls for forceful responses to dissent.

The amici curiae urge the court to weigh these significant risks carefully as it considers a temporary restraining order related to the deployment. They emphasize that the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement should be a last resort, narrowly tailored, and consistent with constitutional and statutory guardrails to protect both the military’s integrity and civil liberties.