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ICE's Charles to Newsmax: Feds Won't Be Aggressor If Civil Unrest Erupts in LA

By Michael Katz | Monday, 09 June 2025 10:56 PM EDT

Marcos Charles, who is helping to spearhead the Trump administration's nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration, told Newsmax on Monday that federal agents, the National Guard, and the Marines will not be the aggressor in any civil disorder stemming from the Los Angeles riots.

President Donald Trump on Sunday activated the California National Guard to Los Angeles, and the Pentagon on Monday ordered hundreds of Marines to be deployed to the city. Together, with ICE agents and other law enforcement officials, plus an ever-growing number of rioters, it could make for a volatile situation.

"We are not going to be the aggressors in this case, sir," Charles, acting executive associate director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations, told "Finnerty." "We're going to be out there doing our job, making arrests and following the law.

"The Marines that are coming in, we expect them to be used [for] the purpose of force protection, and building and personnel protection, also, along with the National Guard that are already on the ground."

Rioting began in Los Angeles over the weekend following numerous ICE raids on Friday that led to the arrests of several illegal immigrants with criminal records.

The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that the riots in Los Angeles escalated attacks on ICE officers, who are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them, as well as their family members being targeted and doxed.

Doxing refers to publishing personal information about specific people online.

"Our officers that are out there, that are risking their lives every day, the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol and DOJ [the Department of Justice], if they are assaulted or if somebody puts hands on any of our people, they are authorized to make that arrest and use the force necessary to make that arrest," Charles said. "And the U.S. attorney has guaranteed that we will be prosecuting anybody that does that with the with the charge of assaulting a federal officer.

"The important thing to know here is that the people that are here protesting, they're out protesting a lawful service. We are executing the laws set forth by the government of the United States. We are out there apprehending illegal aliens, which consists of many criminals. We arrest people every day with extreme criminal records, and I don't see the need to try to protect these individuals whatsoever."

Charles said immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles are ongoing and will not be stopped by the rioters.

"We are out there on the streets every day," he said. "We're making arrests. We're apprehending people, and we're deporting them every day."

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