By Aldgra Fredly
Contributing Writer
The Pentagon said this week it is withdrawing half of the 4,000 National Guard troops participating in a federal protection mission in Los Angeles.
In June, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to protect federal buildings and personnel amid protests against federal immigration enforcement raids targeting illegal immigrants in the city — a move made against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that half of the National Guardsmen assigned to the mission will now be removed at the order of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” Parnell said in an emailed statement, without elaborating further.
As a result, 2,000 National Guardsmen will remain stationed in the city, continuing their mission to safeguard federal interests alongside the Marines.
Newsom reiterated his opposition to the deployment and urged the Trump administration to fully remove all the deployed National Guard troops from the city, according to a statement posted by his office on Tuesday.
“While nearly 2,000 of them are starting to demobilize, the remaining guardsmembers continue without a mission, without direction and without any hopes of returning to help their communities,” he stated.
“We call on Trump and the Department of Defense to end this theater and send everyone home now,” the governor added.
In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attributed the partial withdrawal of National Guardsmen to the unity of the people of Los Angeles in opposing the deployment.
“This happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong. We organized peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court — all of this led to today’s retreat,” Bass stated.
Newsom and the state’s attorneys general had previously filed a lawsuit to block the federal government’s deployment of troops, arguing that it exceeded the president’s executive authority because it was carried out without the governor’s consent.
The deployed National Guard troops are considered to be in a “Title 10” status, meaning they’ve been activated under 10 U.S. Code § 12406, which permits the president to order guardsmen into service — with or without the support of a state governor — in the event of “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States,” alongside additional circumstances such as invasion.
However, without an invocation of the Insurrection Act, their authority is limited solely to protecting federal interests in the region, and they are not authorized to make arrests or carry out general law enforcement functions.
Protests against federal immigration enforcement raids began in Los Angeles on June 6, triggered by the arrest of illegal immigrants as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation operations.
Sporadic protests and riots subsequently broke out in several other cities, with some escalating into violence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
On June 10, Bass implemented a curfew on areas of the city’s downtown after numerous businesses across the city were looted. The curfew, which lasted for about a week, was intended to prevent further vandalism and looting from the protests.
Joseph Lord contributed to this report.
