Feds Release 2,000 National Guard Troops from LA Deployment; State Seeks More

Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom applauded a Trump administration decision to cut the number of federalized California National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles area by half, a reduction from 4,000 to 2,000.

“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 [this week’s] retreat.

“We will not stop making our voices heard until this ends, not just here in LA, but throughout our country.”

Newsom, who had sued to regain control of the guard troops, continued his push for the full deployment to end.

“For more than a month, @TheCalGuard has been pulled away from their families, communities and civilian work to serve as political pawns for the President in Los Angeles,” the government said in a statement on X. “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. We call on Trump and the Department of Defense to end this theater and send everyone home now.”

On June 7, President Donald 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.

Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration challenging the legality of its move federalizing the National Guard — which is normally under state control — but a judge ruled in favor of the federal government.

On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued a statement saying 2,000 National Guard troops were being released from federal control.

“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” Parnell said. “As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen from the federal protection mission.”

The remaining 2,000 Guard troops and 700 Marines will remain on their deployment to protect federal assets in the area, administration officials said.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has filed court papers seeking a stay of a Los Angeles federal judge’s orders barring federal agents from detaining people without reasonable suspicion beyond their race, ethnicity or occupation.

Attorneys for the federal government Sunday filed a formal notice of appeal, announcing its intention to challenge the Friday ruling by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong. The government on Monday asked Frimpong to put the ruling on hold pending a review by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Federal attorneys also submitted paperwork to the 9th Circuit, also asking for a stay of the ruling.

In its emergency motion lodged with the appellate court for a stay pending appeal, government attorneys argued the ruling places “coercive restraints on lawful immigration enforcement affecting every immigration stop and detention.”

The lawyers contend the judge’s injunction is a “straight-jacket” inflicting “irreparable harm” by preventing President Donald Trump “from ensuring that immigration laws are enforced.”

The ruling levels “systemic challenges to federal immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area,” according to the appeal.

Frimpong’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed July 2 in Los Angeles federal court by Public Counsel, the American Civil Liberties Union and attorneys representing Southern California residents, workers and advocacy groups on behalf of people who allege they were unlawfully stopped or detained by federal agents targeting locations where immigrant workers are traditionally hired.

It accused immigration officials of carrying out “roving patrols” and detaining people without warrants and regardless of whether they have actual proof they are in the country legally.

It further alleged federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, engaged in unconstitutional and unlawful immigration enforcement raids by targeting Angelenos based on their perceived race and ethnicity and denying detainees constitutionally mandated due process.

U.S. officials have strongly denied those claims.

“A district judge is undermining the will of the American people. America’s brave men and women are removing murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, rapists — truly the worst of the worst from Golden State communities. LAW AND ORDER WILL PREVAIL!” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

White House border czar Tom Homan also criticized the order.

“Look, we’re going to litigate that order, because I think the order’s wrong. I mean, she’s (Frimpong) assuming that the officers don’t have reasonable suspicion. They don’t need probable cause to briefly detain and question somebody. They just need reasonable suspicion. And that’s based on many articulable facts,” Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.