By JANIE HAR and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Los Angeles field office director for the Department of Homeland Security testified on Monday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers desperately needed the help of military personnel in carrying out arrests. The question is whether President Donald Trump ‘s deployment of armed forces goes against U.S. law that generally prohibits the president from using the military to police domestic affairs.

Ernesto Santacruz Jr. testified at the start of a three-day trial in San Francisco over whether Trump’s administration violated the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act when it deployed National Guard soldiers and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles following June protests over immigration raids. The administration has argued federal milit

See Full Page