The Trump administration is releasing 2,000 National Guard troops, half the number deployed last month in response to protests, following immigration raids in the area.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement Tuesday. “As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen (79th IBCT) from the federal protection mission.”
The move comes after President Donald Trump ordered 4,000 troops to be deployed last month in the wake of protests breaking out in response to a string of ICE raids across Los Angeles.
After disembarking Marine One Tuesday evening, the president didn’t respond when asked why he was pulling troops from Los Angeles.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called for the remaining 2,000 troops to be sent home in a statement shared to social media on Tuesday evening.
“For more than a month, @realDonaldTrump has been exploiting @TheCalGuard as his political pawns. Thousands of members are still federalized in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state,” the governor wrote. “End this theater and send everyone home.”
After deploying the initial 2,000 National Guard troops, the president ordered the mobilization of an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support ICE’s efforts. At the time, Newsom blasted the move as “purposefully inflammatory” and predicted it would “only escalate tensions.”
The state of California then sued the Trump administration over its deployment, claiming the decision has “caused real and irreparable damage” to both Los Angeles and the state’s larger sovereignty. Trump’s decision marked the first time the state National Guard had been federalized by a president since 1965. The appeals court sided with the president, saying Trump "exercised his statutory authority" when he activated the troops.
The decision to send troops home comes days after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced federal officers arrested more than 300 people at a marijuana facility in southern California on July 10. Days later, that figure rose to 361 after DHS said agents raided another cannabis farm in the area.
At least one worker died after he was chased by federal agents during one of the farm raids, according to United Farm Workers.
The move also follows a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests across seven counties in the state.
The Justice Department appealed the decision on Monday.
