A U.S. appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles amid protests over stepped-up immigration enforcement, temporarily pausing a lower court ruling that blocked the mobilization.

Did President Trump send the U.S. military to Los Angeles earlier this week to safeguard the city from protesters? Or is this the start of something bigger — an unprecedented push by the president to carry out mass deportations with the help of armed troops?

A military official said the Marines would be on the city’s streets on Wednesday. A federal judge was set to hear California’s request to limit the use of the soldiers.