Pentagon pulls 2,000 National Guard members from Los Angeles in immigration rollback

 

WASHINGTON ― The Trump administration is pulling half of the California National Guard members it deployed to Los Angeles in a major rollback of President Donald Trump's militarized response to protests in Southern California over immigration arrests and raids.

“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding," Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a July 15 statement. "As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen (79th IBCT) from the federal protection mission."

Trump deployed 4,000 California National Guardsmen on June 7 to respond to protests that racked the southern part of the state after he stepped up immigration raids and arrests, targeting farms, restaurants, and hardware stores across the Los Angeles area. He also ordered 700 Marines to the city that were tasked with guarding federal property.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass claimed victory after Trump's withdrawal of guardsmen.

“This happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong," Bass said in a statement. "We organized peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court ‒ all of this led to today’s retreat."