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from their immigration-related deployments to Los Angeles last week, roughly 700 U.S. Marines will now begin being withdrawn from the city and returned to their normal duties, the Pentagon announced today.
“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 Monday, 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.”
The Marine withdrawal was expected to be completed as soon as Tuesday.
The Pentagon announcement followed a morning news conference in Sylmar in which LA 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.
She added, “I’d like to say that they heard from the people of LosAngeles.”
Mejivar, who served in the Marine Corps from 2009-16, said that the deployment of troops to LA was unnecessary.
“I’m so glad to hear my brothers and sisters are going back to their base,” Mejivar said.
The two elected officials held a news conference at Mission College alongside other veterans and families of service members.
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.
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 but also in Paramount and other areas.
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.
LA 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.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that members of the National Guard “deserve more than to continue serving as puppets in 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 issued Monday afternoon. “The damage is done, however. We, again, call upon them to do the right thing and end the militarization once and for all.”