ICE prepares to deploy tactical agents to Democratic cities nationwide

ICE is preparing to deploy its Special Response Teams to five cities run by Democratic leaders, two sources familiar with the planning of the future operations told NBC News today.

The Special Response Teams (SRTs) are tactical units under ICE that use BearCat tracked vehicles, long guns and tactical vests in operations considered high risk. They were used in the raid on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ home, for example.

They were most recently used in Los Angeles and are seen as among the reasons protests began.

The sources said the SRTs have been ordered to deploy in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, northern Virginia and New York.

It is not clear that the raids in those cities will begin immediately, but all SRT units in those areas have been told to be ready to deploy, the sources said.

Mayor Karen Bass said Tuesday night that a curfew will be in effect in the Los Angeles area, where protests have occurred. 

According to the mayor’s office, the curfew is effective from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in downtown Los Angeles. It covers the area between the U.S. 110, I-5 and I-10 freeways and extends north of the 101 into Chinatown and Elysian Park until the 5 and the 110 meet.

As preparations continue for a massive military parade that marks the Army’s 250th anniversary and falls on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, the president is shrugging off Republican criticism of the $45 million spectacle coming to Washington, D.C., and promising that protesters will be “met with very big force.”

It comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced new scrutiny over the president’s decision to deploy the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he’ll deploy the National Guard to locations across the state “to ensure peace and order” ahead of a planned protest in San Antonio.

“Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest. @TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order,” Abbott wrote on X late Tuesday local time.