A federal appeals court on Tuesday spent more than an hour grappling with whether President Donald Trump unlawfully federalized thousands of members of California’s National Guard to beef up security in Los Angeles amid unrest over immigration enforcement.

The legal battle over the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard in California continued in a federal appeals court on Tuesday. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals presided over a remote hearing regarding California's challenge to President Donald Trump's federalization of the state's National Guard troops amid protests over immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area.

US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled last week that the Guard deployment was illegal and exceeded Trump's authority. Federal government attorney Brett Shumate argued the Guard is necessary to protect federal buildings from 'ongoing protests' and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents making arrests.