The Trump administration announced the withdrawal of approximately half of the troops deployed to assist in immigration enforcement operations in the city.
In early June, President Donald Trump directed the deployment of about 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to provide support during federal immigration enforcement efforts. These actions took place amidst widespread protests.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, as reported by NBC Los Angeles, these operations have resulted in the arrest of 2,792 undocumented immigrants.
On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen from the federal protection mission. He reasoned that this step was taken because “the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding”.
Mayor Karen Bass criticized the withdrawal as a “retreat,” attributing the decision to the success of peaceful protests and legal actions. She said, “This is a result of the unity and strength of the people of Los Angeles, who organized peaceful protests, came together at rallies, and took the Trump administration to court.”
She also pointed to a lawsuit that the city participated in, which led to a federal judge’s order barring immigration officers from detaining individuals solely based on their race or use of Spanish.
Federal troops are authorized to detain individuals who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but they are not allowed to make arrests themselves. Instead, they can detain individuals only until law enforcement officials can take over.
California’s Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, responded to the partial withdrawal of troops by stating that thousands of National Guard members remain unfavorable under federal control in Los Angeles, hindering them from fulfilling their critical duties across the state.
“Stop this display and send everyone home,” Newsom urged via social media.
Despite legal challenges, a US appeals court has upheld Trump’s control over California’s National Guard, marking the first instance since 1965 when a US president has deployed the National Guard contrary to a state governor’s wishes.
Newsom’s office highlighted that the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard has significantly reduced the capacity of California National Guard firefighting crews, now operating at only 40 percent, as the state is facing an increase in wildfires.
Los Angeles, historically part of the Mexican empire, has a large population with origins in Central and South America. As a “sanctuary” city, Los Angeles provides protection from deportation to hundreds of thousands of undocumented residents.
President Trump has pledged to deport millions of undocumented individuals and has conducted raids at work sites, including farms that were largely exempt from enforcement action during his first term. The administration is currently facing numerous lawsuits challenging their tactics.
Trump has increasingly relied on the military to bolster his immigration enforcement strategies.
In addition to deploying troops to Los Angeles, thousands of active-duty troops have been sent to the border with Mexico, and the Pentagon has established military zones in the border region to facilitate the detention of migrants without invoking the Insurrection Act.
A recent poll indicates that public support for immigration in the US has increased, while backing for the large-scale deportation of undocumented immigrants has decreased.
