More than a month after President Trump made the fiercely controversial decision to send around 700 US navies to Los Angeles, these troops will begin to withdraw from the city, Pentagon officials announced on Monday.
The decision arrives a week later The Pentagon announced that Half of the nearly 4,000 troops of the National Guard deployed in the Los Angeles region would be released.
The Marines and the National Guard were sent to the city in early June in the midst of generalized federal immigration raids and inflamed demonstrations against application measures, the Trump administration promising to repress “rioters, looters and thugs”.
While the president argued that he had “Save Los Angeles”, “ Local and state officials denounced the extraordinary deployment of military troops in the streets of an American city.
California defenders and politicians also argued that the heavy spectacle would be incendiary, potentially putting troops and demonstrators in danger.
The sometimes volatile protests that broke out in downtown Los Angeles and other parts of the region in mid-June have long been removed. Some troops are responsible for protecting federal buildings and some have accompanied immigration agents on tense measures. In recent days, they have I largely fought boredom, without doing too much.
Speaking on behalf of the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, the spokesman for the Pentagon, Sean Parnell, attributed to the troops to have helped calm in the region.
“With the stability returning to Los Angeles, the secretary led the redeployment of the 700 navies whose presence sent a clear message: anarchy will not be tolerated,” said Parnell in a statement on Monday. “Their rapid response, their unwavering discipline and their undoubted presence played a decisive role in restoring order and respect for the rule of law. We are deeply grateful for their service and for the strength and professionalism they have brought to this mission. ”
An official of the Ministry of Defense said publicly last month that the deployment of the National Guard and the Navy in Los Angeles would cost around $ 134 million.
News of the withdrawal of the navies, which was reported for the first time In New York Times, broke a few minutes after the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, finished a public appearance on Monday morning with groups of veterans, where she decreed the “inappropriate” presence of military forces in the streets of Los Angeles.
“This is another victory for Los Angeles. As we said this morning – the way to best support our troops is to have them do what they enlisted, not to protect two office buildings,” said Bass in response to withdrawal.
The raids have sowed panic in immigrant communities in the Los Angeles region and become a flash point of the Trump administration.
Transit Membership in Los Angeles fellThe spots in the formerly lively district are regularly empty And many undocumented Angelos are Jump standard health care visits.
The omnipresent cooling effect in a so-called sanctuary city can be part of the Trump administration objective. But Recent surveys suggest Immigration raids are increasingly unpopular with the public.
According to published data Last week by immigration and customs applicationThe majority of those arrested have no criminal convictions. Almost half of the people taken in the sweeping are Mexican nationals, and many have deep ties in the United States
The administration has also fought against the escalation of legal challenges targeting raids.
In mid-July, a federal judge published a burning reprimand, temporarily blocking federal agents The use of racial profiling to make blind arrests. Last week, the administration asked a federal court of appeal To suspend the judge’s order, which would allow immigration agents to resume the raids without hindrances. The court of appeal will resume the stay next Monday and could rule at the end of the month.
Ysabel Jurado, progressive member of the Los Angeles Municipal Council whose district includes the city center, applauded the administration’s decision to withdraw the Los Angeles Marines.
“THE #Summerofresistance work. Our federal occupation may end here in Los Angeles, but the fight against authoritarianism is far from over ”, Jurado said on xBefore posting that the navies “were not there to suppress civil disorders, they were called to encourage him”.
Governor Gavin Newsom also argued that the president deliberately “Has ignited a fuel situation.”
“There was never a need for soldiers to deploy against civilians in Los Angeles,” Newsom said in a statement on Monday. “The damage is done, however. We call them again to do the right thing and put an end to militarization once and for all. ”
Newsom and California Atty. Gen. ROB BONTA previously prosecuted Regarding the mobilization by Trump of the National Guard forces in Los Angeles, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal of the United States that the president had a great power to deploy the army in American cities. Next month, a federal judge in San Francisco should decide whether federalized troops violated the federal law during the deployment.
About 2,000 national guard troops remain in the region, according to US Northern Command.
Times Sonja Sharp and Brittny Mejia staff were contributed to this report.
