Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forcefully defended the deployment of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles during a hearing on Tuesday.

National Guard troops are now protecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in and around Los Angeles, marking an expansion of their duties since being deployed by President Donald Trump this week.

Multiple people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday morning, merely 12 hours after thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Mission to rally against the widespread raids taking place across California.

Protests against ICE are spreading across the U.S. as the Trump administration intensifies its response to gatherings in Los Angeles.

Monday's protests were largely calmer than Sunday's clashes. California officials insist that the 4,000 National Guards troops and 700 active duty Marines en route to L.A. are an unnecessary abuse of power by Trump.

HOW WE GOT HERE: The protests erupted after Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Friday carried out raids in three locations across L.A., where dozens of people were taken into custody. Newsom called the raids “chaotic federal sweeps” that aimed to fill an “arbitrary arrest quota.”

The city acknowledged that the change could make it more difficult for some families to visit detained loved ones.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has formally requested that the Trump Administration remove the National Guard from L.A.. The soldiers’ insertion into the city was a retaliatory measure made by the President late Saturday night in response to ongoing protests against city-wide raids by U.