June 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. District Court Judge in San Francisco has ruled that President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to tamp down rioters was illegal.
"The court must determine whether the president followed the congressionally mandated procedures for this actions," Judge Charles Breyer wrote in his decision that granted Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom's request for a temporary restraining order.
"He did not," Breyer continued. "His actions were illegal -- both exceeding the scope of his authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution."
That amendment requires the separation of federal and state powers.
Trump called up thousands of National Guard soldiers to aid in Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on places suspected of employing or harboring undocumented immigrants. And the president acted over Newsom's objections.
Breyer set a Friday deadline for the Trump administration to order the soldiers to stand down.
Lawmaker's question, response
The judge's judicial action was just one way in which America's divide over immigration issues was on display Thursday. A U.S. senator was even manhandled at a news conference on the topic.
Sen. Alex Padilla was removed from a Los Angeles news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, while a federal judge weighed the merits of military deployments during the day, as well.
Padilla, D-Calif., interrupted the news conference and demanded that Noem answer questions, but event security removed him.
"I was there peacefully," Padilla told media afterward. "I had a question, and so I began to ask a question."
"I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room," he said. "I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed."
Padilla said he was not arrested or detained but suggested the treatment he received suggests worse is happening to others.
"You can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country," Padilla said.
'Inappropriate' behavior claimed
During the press conference, Noem called Padilla's interruption "inappropriate" and said she would speak with him after concluding the news conference.
Following her meeting with Padilla, Noem said he "was especially concerned about prosecutions that I'll turn over to the Department of Justice," KTTV reported.
Noem told Padilla she would share information with him about Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Los Angeles.
"He and I are probably not going to agree on 90% of things," she added, "but we both left that room recognizing that civil conversations will get better results."
Noem said she explained President Donald Trump's opinion on matters in Los Angeles and the executive authorities that the president is exercising.
She also criticized local officials' approach to protesters' violence and destruction of property.
"It's almost like they are saying it's OK if 10% of LA gets destroyed," Noem said. "Why do we not care about every single citizen here? Why would we not try to stop that violence from happening?"
Ongoing curfew in Los Angeles; Texas deploys National Guard
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday announced an ongoing curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. PDT in a downtown area that is bordered by interstates 5, 10 and 110.
The Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday arrested 71 people for failure to disperse, seven for violating the curfew, two for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon and one for resisting arrest.
Meanwhile, protests continue with several scheduled in California and 28 in total in locales across the nation, NBC News reported.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday announced he called up 5,000 National Guardsmen and deployed 2,000 Texas Public Safety troopers to maintain peace and arrest those engaged in criminal acts as anti-ICE protests are expected to continue at least through the weekend.
"Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be arrested and held accountable to the full extent of the law," Abbott said in a news release.
"Don't mess with Texas -- and don't mess with Texas law enforcement," he added.
