[Source: Reuters]

U.S. troops deployed in Los Angeles are authorized to detain people until police can arrest them, their commanding officer said on Wednesday, as hundreds of Marines prepared to move into the city as it entered a sixth day of protests.

Protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration raids have spread from California to other U.S. cities, with hundreds of nationwide demonstrations planned for Saturday.

Trump’s decision to dispatch troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked a national debate about the use of the military on U.S. soil. Newsom’s administration has sued the U.S. government over the deployment.

The 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops that Trump has ordered to Los Angeles do not have arrest authority, U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who is commanding the troops, told reporters.

But Sherman said they do have the power to detain individuals temporarily until law enforcement can arrest them, if needed to fulfill their mission of protecting federal personnel or property.

The Marines, who have been training at Seal Beach just south of Los Angeles County, will move to the city “soon,” but not on Wednesday, Sherman said. They will not carry live ammunition in their rifles, he added.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Sherman’s comments reflect regular rules of engagement and did not reflect an expansion of authorities.

In addition to protecting government buildings and personnel, the Pentagon has said the troops will safeguard Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during raids.

ICE posted photos online on Tuesday of National Guard troops standing guard with weapons in hand as ICE officers handcuffed apparent migrants against the side of a car in Los Angeles.

An 1878 law, the Posse Comitatus Act, generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement.

The troops in California are deployed under a separate federal law that does not override that prohibition, but allows troops to protect federal agents carrying out law enforcement activity.

For example, National Guard troops cannot arrest protesters, but they could protect ICE officers who are carrying out arrests.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office filed the lawsuit challenging Trump’s deployment orders, told Reuters on Tuesday that allowing troops to accompany ICE agents into communities could potentially lead to violations of the act, given the thin line between providing protection and engaging in enforcement.

Sherman did not give a specific number of raids on which troops had accompanied ICE agents, but told reporters that about 1,000 troops had taken part in operations to protect federal buildings and law enforcement.

The Trump administration responded on Wednesday in a court filing to California’s lawsuit ahead of a Thursday court hearing, arguing that the president has the discretion to determine whether a “rebellion or danger of a rebellion” requires a military response.

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