LOS ANGELES — After some 2,000 federalized National Guard troops were released from their immigration-related deployments to Los Angeles last week, roughly 700 U.S. Marines will now begin withdrawing from the city and returned to their normal duties, the Pentagon announced July 21.
“With stability returning to Los Angeles, the secretary has directed the redeployment of the 700 Marines whose presence sent a clear message: lawlessness will not be tolerated,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Their rapid response, unwavering discipline and unmistakable presence were instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law. We’re deeply grateful for their service, and for the strength and professionalism they brought to this mission.”
The Marine withdrawal was expected to be completed this week.
The Pentagon confirmation followed a morning news conference in which L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and state Sen. Caroline Mejivar, D-Panorama City, posted a video on social media hailing the decision to redeploy those 700 Marines.
“We just had a press conference calling for the removal of all of the troops, and we just got word that the Marines will be able to go back to their families and will be leaving Los Angeles,” Bass said. “I’d like to say that they heard from the people of Los Angeles.”
Bass emphasized that Los Angeles needs the National Guard to assist and prepare for fire season, not for immigration enforcement and related protests.
“The administration, we know, has retreated some of the forces, but we need all the troops to return home and to not be here, to not be used as political stunts, to not be used to intimidate Angelenos, and to not be used as pawns,” Bass said.
Vet Voice Foundation CEO Janessa Goldbeck, who served in the Marine Corps as a combat engineer officer, said the deployment of active-duty marines and National Guard troops in support of domestic immigration enforcement is not a routine operation.
“It is a break with longstanding norms and a decision that should concern every American, regardless of political affiliation,” Goldbeck said. “The job of the American military is to fight and win wars, not police American neighborhoods.
“When we blur that line, we don’t just risk overreach. We risk something deeper, the erosion of public trust in both our armed forces and in our democratic institutions.”
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis called the withdrawal of Marines “long overdue.”
“There is no place for a militarized presence in our communities — especially when residents are peacefully demonstrating and exercising their constitutional rights,” Solis said in a statement. “These armed service members trained for battlefield, not for deployment among civilians.”
She further called on the federal government to release the remaining National Guard members.
“There are natural disasters across the state and nation, where their skills and service are urgently needed. That is where they belong,” Solis added.
“Gov. Gavin Newsom said that members of the National Guard “deserve more than to continue serving as puppets in President Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s performative political theater.”
“There was never a need for the military to deploy against civilians in Los Angeles,” Newsom said in a statement. “The damage is done, however. We, again, call upon them to do the right thing and end the militarization once and for all.”
According to Newsom’s office, the National Guard estimates that its members have been pulled from essential civilian duties such as medical and first responders, service workers, building trades contractors, and law enforcement, among other jobs.
On June 7, Trump ordered that 2,000 California National Guard troops be brought under federal control and deployed to Los Angeles to protect federal facilities and personnel one day after sometimes destructive protests erupted — mainly in the downtown area. The protests came in reaction to widespread immigration raids and other enforcement actions.
Another 2,000 troops were later added to that deployment, along with 700 U.S. Marines tasked with guarding federal property.
The number of federalized California National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles area was cut to 2,000 last week after a withdrawal of another 2,000.
In an interview broadcast July 20, Bass again criticized the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration in the city, saying Los Angeles is dependent on “immigrant labor.”
“Because we are a city of immigrants, we have entire sectors of our economy that are dependent on immigrant labor,” Bass told ABC News’ “The Week.” “We have to get the fire areas rebuilt. We’re not going to get our city rebuilt without immigrant labor.”
Bass has repeatedly called for the end of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the city, which began June 6. She and other Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have accused the Trump administration of targeting people based on their skin color — claims the government denies — and sowing fear in the local immigrant community.
Bass has also accused the administration of reneging on its pledge to target those with criminal histories for deportation, saying most of those being detained in local raids are otherwise law-abiding residents, notwithstanding their immigration status.
White House officials have repeatedly defended the deployments.
“President Trump is fulfilling the promise he was elected on — carrying out the largest mass deportation operation of criminal illegal aliens,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman told City News Service in an email.
“While Karen Bass continues to support dangerous policies that put Americans at risk, ICE is removing threats from our streets. Just recently in Los Angeles, ICE arrested a criminal illegal alien with a conviction for second-degree murder, indecent exposure and a final deportation order from 2012.
“This is one of countless successful operations to go after the worst-of-the-worst that Karen Bass opposes. ICE is keeping communities safe, yet Karen Bass wants dangerous criminal illegals, like this man, to stay in America. She couldn’t be more out of touch.”
Statistics show that illegal crossings at the U.S./Mexico border have dropped to historically low levels after Trump took office in January. Bass was asked if she thought Trump had done anything good at the border.
“I will heap praise on the administration for the first six months in Los Angeles with the fires,” she said. “If you ask me, is there anything that they have done good in terms of immigration? I don’t know. I don’t think so.
“I think that the viewpoint has been punitive, has been, let’s make it as miserable as possible so that these people don’t come.”
Bass said she has a request in to speak with Trump administration officials about the raids and the ongoing National Guard deployment in the city, but has not had any conversations recently.
“I want to work with the administration to solve this problem,” she said. “We have the World Cup in 11 short months here. We have the Olympics and Paralympics coming in three short years.
“I know that these games are very important to the president, and I look forward to working with him and we have an extreme difference on this issue, but there’s many issues for us to work on. And I will continue trying to outreach to the administration and hope that at some point they’ll be responsive.”
