2,000 National Guard troops will leave LA

Half of the California National Guard troops that were federalized and deployed to Los Angeles in response to unrest sparked by immigration-enforcement raids in the area will be returned to their normal duties, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

The move comes after last week’s “Operation Excalibur,” where more than 100 federal immigration enforcement agents swept through MacArthur Park in the Westlake area. The action prompted a rapid response from community members and L.A.’s Mayor Karen Bass. 

Journalist Ken Klippenstein reported in his newsletter, “Many in the military who are on the ground in Los Angeles think that ICE and others from Homeland Security dressing up in Army green and using armored vehicles on the streets of an American city undermines the reputation of the armed forces.”

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

In June, 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 in light of protests that erupted mainly in the downtown area. Another 2,000 troops were later added to that deployment, along with 700 U.S. Marines.

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.

The federalization of National Guard troops was repeatedly condemned by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who decried a "militarization" of the immigration operations in the region. Newsom and California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration, challenging the legality of its move to federalize the National Guard, but a judge ruled in favor of the federal government.

In another lawsuit, a federal judge issued a restraining order last week limiting the ability of U.S. immigration officers to detain people without probable cause based on race, ethnicity or occupation. The order also prohibits the Trump administration from denying detainees access to lawyers.

Following the Pentagon's announcement Tuesday, Assemblyman Mark González, (D-Los Angeles), issued a statement calling the release of troops "long overdue."

"Our communities should never have been treated like a war zone for demanding dignity, safety and due process," he said. "Deploying National Guard troops against immigrant families and peaceful protesters was an abuse of power rooted in fear, not fact."

Newsom said in a statement, "For more than a month, (the National Guard) has been pulled away from their families, communities and civilian work to serve as political pawns for the president in Los Angeles. 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."

Additional reporting by City News Service.