Federal troops are pulling back from Los Angeles. This move comes after strong local pushback against the military presence. It signals a shift in the ongoing argument between federal power and local authority.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to leave Los Angeles. This cuts the soldier count in the city by nearly half. The decision unwinds a controversial order from President Donald Trump last month. He sent thousands of National Guard members and hundreds of Marines into the city.
The federal deployment aimed to calm protests. These protests erupted after federal agents started arresting undocumented immigrants. But local leaders and California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom quickly spoke out against the troops. They argued the federal move was an overreach.
Sean Parnell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Defense Department, thanked the soldiers. He said they responded well to unrest in Los Angeles. Now, with things calmer, the Secretary chose to release 2,000 California National Guard members from federal duty. Their mission was protecting federal property.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the troop withdrawal a win for the city. She said it showed the federal government had to back down. This happened because of peaceful actions by citizens. Quiet protests and a lawsuit against the Trump administration played a part.
Los Angeles is known as a sanctuary city. Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants live there. The Trump administration has targeted the city since the President returned to office in January. After immigration arrests stirred unrest last month, President Trump sent in the troops. He often described the street protests as worse than they were.
This specific deployment of the National Guard was quite unusual. It marked the first time since 1965 that a U.S. President used the Guard without a state governor’s consent. Governor Newsom had stated that the protests were peaceful. He insisted that troops were simply not needed.
California is still fighting the Trump administration in court over the initial troop deployment. The state argues the President went beyond his legal powers. The lawsuit continues, even though the soldiers are now leaving Los Angeles.
Source: channelnewsasia