National Guard Vehicles Stop Near Home Depot in Goleta Amid ICE Protest Deployment

National Guard trucks and personnel seen at the Home Depot parking lot in Goleta on June 8, 2025 (Photo @onsantabarbara / Twitter)
National Guard trucks and personnel seen at the Home Depot parking lot in Goleta on June 8, 2025 (Photo @onsantabarbara / Twitter)

Goleta residents witnessed an unexpected sight on Sunday as several large vehicles belonging to the National Guard were temporarily stationed near the Home Depot in the Camino Real Marketplace.

According to reports from community members and social media posts by the 805 Immigrant Coalition, the National Guard convoy was believed to be en route to Los Angeles amidst ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The coalition, which represents a network of immigration advocacy organizations across the Central Coast, noted that the vehicles had left the area shortly after their stop. The increased presence of the National Guard has sparked concerns about its involvement in ICE operations, bringing attention to recent tensions surrounding immigration enforcement activities.

Concerns Over the Role of the National Guard

The Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits the National Guard from engaging in civilian law enforcement. However, documents obtained by NPR revealed that the Department of Homeland Security had proposed the use of National Guard personnel in ICE operations, including “night operations,” “rural interdiction,” and “guard duty and riot control” inside detention facilities.

Home Depot and similar workplaces have reportedly become targets for immigration raids in recent weeks, adding to community anxiety. Protests against ICE raids in areas such as Los Angeles and Paramount have intensified since Friday, prompting unrest and calls for action from advocacy groups.

Escalation in Federal Deployment

On Saturday night, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address protests in Los Angeles. This marked the first time since 1965 that a U.S. president mobilized the National Guard without a formal request or consent from the state government.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a statement, criticized the move, stating, “That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions. This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.” Newsom emphasized that California law enforcement officials had reported “no unmet law enforcement needs” prior to the deployment.

The deployment comes amidst widespread protests against ICE operations and heightened fears over the erosion of immigrant rights.

Advocacy groups, including the 805 Immigrant Coalition, have urged local communities to remain vigilant and vocal in the face of federal intervention, questioning the necessity of the National Guard’s involvement.

 

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Edhat Staff

Written by Edhat Staff

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72 Comments

  1. Oh, right, Edhat gets squeamish about language but not about violation of the constitution.

    Trump breaking the law again–unconstitutional and illegal to deploy National Guard in this fashion.

    Lick that boot.

    • Yeah, when masked and armed thugs with no visible identification are kidnapping people off the streets it sort of pisses people off.

      I’m sure you’ll be cheering when your fascist cult leader again violates the constitution by sending in Marines who end up killing a bunch of people.

      Keep on bootlicking.

    • It wasn’t until Trump escalated everything by overstepping our Governor’s authority and forcing the military to be deployed against our will. THAT is when it kicked off.

      And remember, the Guard did nothing. No enforcement, nothing. They simply sprinkled 300 troops around town to stand watch and be present. They did NOTHING to control the increased violence their presence caused.

      The anger about immigration then became anger about the fascist actions of our criminal president.

      • there are many many confirmed reports, from news anchors, and reporters on scene that the protesters did little to nothing until the sheriff department swarmed them, and fired round after round after round of flash bangs and tear gas. firing point blank range at several protesters who had their arms raised. reports are now surfacing that this is a police induced riot and things got real nasty when the guard was illegally activated by a fascist regime.
        check out APnews.com and Rueters….some very compelling evidence that the cops started this mess…

        • KNEIN – exactly! Just saw a video last night of them shooting a lone, single woman at point blank range as she approached a line of scumbags trying to get to her apartment.

          The cops have been heavy handed from the start. Then you add in the National Guard and Marines…… violence is gonna happen.

          Time to get ready.

    • It’s only a “riot” in the eyes craven little cowards and bigots too scared to see straight.

      I see citizens peacefully standing up for the Constitution, due process, and the rule of law. I see clearly that the orange-poop-taco is trying his damndest to cause violence, and lying through his fake teeth about it. I see his goon Stephen Miller calling peaceful protests an “insurrection” and peeing his pants about martial law. I see ICE agents masked and unidentified acting like bumbling criminals and thugs kidnapping citizens and zip-tying children at birthday parties and restaurants, while Cosplay Barbie pouts and flips her hair on camera grinding out lie after lie.

      ANYONE who supports what these mofos are doing is a gotdam traitor.

  2. Trump’s wet dream coming true. Sending in the military to attack anti-ICE protestors in the state he hates the most.

    These protests are kicking off all over the country. Treating undocumented immigrants like violent criminals and stripping some of their due process rights for simply looking a certain way will no longer be tolerated.

    It’s notable how the Gravy Seals and Proud Boys and other cowardly racists haven’t attempted to counter protest. Good Americans far outnumber them. I do worry though that at some point this summer, these wretched groups will cause violence and death.

    It’s a powder keg out there and Trump is insisting on lighting the match.

  3. BREAKING: Trump is sending in the marines right now.

    “Roughly 500 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, according to three people familiar with the matter, and will join the National Guard troops that were activated by President Donald Trump over the weekend without the consent of California’s governor or the city’s mayor.”

    https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/la-protests-ice-raids-trump-06-09-25

    There are no riots right now. A couple peaceful protests and that’s it.

    Resist!

    • Sure, send in the guys who are trained to kill. Not to police, not to control crowds–to kill. That is what Marines are best at, that is what they train for, that is their job–none are better.

      You MAGATS super fired up? You got your little pants tight over the prospect of US military being deployed to kill unarmed protesters?

      This is what you are. Disgusting.

  4. Wake up dude. Guns flowing south, drugs flowing north, and millions of deaths in both nations. This war has been raging for decades, and the only thing people like you have to offer is “It’s Fascism.” WEAK

    • No, SCHIFTER, it’s “fascism” to detain people with no criminal record and expel them to prisons in countries that are not their own without allowing them due process. It’s “fascism,” to terrify hard-working, tax-paying and law-abiding, albeit undocumented immigrants and rip them from their families, again, without due process because “trials would take too long.” It’s “fascism,” to supersede the governor and send in the US military to deal with protests when the local LE is clearly handling it on their own.

    • SAIL – what does the 2A have to do with this? No one is exercising it. Why has the NRA been completely silent about these raids by unidentified, masked men grabbing people off the streets based on how they look and shipping them out of our country without due process?

      Isn’t the 2A intended to protect against this?

        • SAIL – Ok, then explain. You just say I don’t understand. I’m trying to, as bringing up the 2A in a time of government overreach and unconstitutional actions is relevant. Just saying I’ll never understand doesn’t help.

          Yes, I agree that because the government is afraid, they’re avoiding going into tough neighborhoods after the real criminals, and instead going to where they know the people won’t be armed – courthouses, schools, churches, etc, to harass and detain otherwise law abiding undocumented immigrants who are just trying to survive and be part of our communities. That is why I called ICE “cowards.” Because they are. They’re beating up and terrorizing peaceful non-criminal immigrants as they try to do things the “legal way” at courthouses.

          “Disarming civilians?” How? When? That isn’t happening.

          So again, how is “having the 2nd amendment” helping here?

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