California and Los Angeles leaders have reacted to Donald Trump calling in the National Guard by characterizing the move as an unnecessary escalation of tensions

Large-scale protests Saturday across Los Angeles in response to dozens of arrests Friday in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation prompted a threat from President Trump for a federal response to those protests.

The Trump administration said it would send 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles after a second day in which protesters confronted immigration agents during raids of local businesses.

The memo obtained by NPR says troops would be used in activities, including in "night operations and rural interdiction," as well as "guard duty and riot control" inside detention facilities.

Democrats in Congress and some military and law enforcement officials expressed concern about the plan, which Defense Department officials have not yet approved.