WASHINGTON

The deployment of US troops to Los Angeles, California in response to immigration protests is "lawful and constitutional," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday.

"Senator, every authorization we've provided the National Guard and the Marines in Los Angeles is under the authority of the President (of) United States, is lawful and constitutional," Hegseth said at a Senate hearing, when Sen. Jack Reed asked him whether the department will authorize forces to detain or arrest American citizens.

His remarks came during his testimony before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee along with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine.

Reed said the US has already ordered 4,000 National Guard into Los Angeles, plus 700 active duty Marines, which he said against the advice of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the chief of police of Los Angeles.

Hegseth said the mission in Los Angeles is "not about lethality."

"It's about maintaining law and order on behalf of law enforcement agents who deserve to do their job without being attacked by mobs of people," Hegseth said, adding he is "very proud" that the National Guard and the Marines are on the streets defending the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Reed replied: "Law and order is a civil function under the Constitution of the United States ... not the US military."

Protests erupted Friday after ICE agents raided local businesses in Los Angeles and detained hundreds of people suspected of living in the US illegally. The Trump administration has continued to carry out the raids in defiance of community opposition.

President Donald Trump has deployed roughly 4,000 US National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to the streets of Los Angeles in defiance of warnings from Newsom and Bass that the action would only serve to further inflame already-heightened tensions.

The protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown intensified in Los Angeles and spread to more than a dozen US cities, including Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.