Marines deployed by President Donald Trump arrived in the Los Angeles area with orders to protect federal property and officers, as the city is gripped by tensions over anti-deportation protests.

Seven hundred troops from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines have made it to the greater LA area, a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command said, without disclosing their specific location. They will join about 2,100 members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who are also in the area, including in Paramount and Compton, according to the spokesperson.

Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith told the Senate Armed Services Committee members on Tuesday that the deployed troops are trained in crowd control. They’re equipped with "shields and batons,” but "do not have arrest authority,” he said, adding that they are there to support law enforcement, not replace it.

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