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from their immigration-related deployments to Los Angeles last week, roughly 700 U.S. Marines will now begin being withdrawn from the city and returned to their normal duties, the Pentagon announced Monday.
“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. We’re deeply grateful for their service, and for the strength and professionalism they brought to this mission.”
The Marine withdrawal was expected to be completed as soon as Tuesday.
The Pentagon confirmation followed a morning news conference in Sylmar in which L.A. 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 Los Angeles.”
Mejivar, who served in the Marine Corps from 2009-16, said that the deployment of troops to L.A. 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.
Menjivar echoed the mayor’s sentiments, saying, “This is why it was so personal and infuriating to me to see 700 of my brothers and sisters in the corps deployed to my backyard because we did not sign up to intimidate and potentially take military action against Americans on American soil, who are exercising their constitutional right to protest.”
Menjivar served in the Marine Corps from 2009 to 2016 and was stationed in Miramar, La Jolla, as a radio operator and communications platoon sergeant.
She also criticized the Trump administration for spending what she called said was about $134 million taxpayer dollars with the deployment of troops to Los Angeles.
Vet Voice Foundation CEO Janessa Goldbeck, a national nonprofit, who served in the Marine Corps as a combat engineer officer, said the deployment of active-duty marines and National Guard troops in support of domestic immigration enforcement is not a routine operation.
“It is a break with longstanding norms and a decision that should concern every American, regardless of political affiliation,” Goldbeck said.
“…The job of the American military is to fight and win wars, not police American neighborhoods,” Goldbeck added. “When we blur that line, we don’t just risk overreach. We risk something deeper, the erosion of public trust in both our armed forces and in our democratic institutions.”
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.
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.
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Bass again criticized the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration in the city, saying Los Angeles is dependent on “immigrant labor.”
“Because we are a city of immigrants, we have entire sectors of our economy that are dependent on immigrant labor. We have to get the fire areas rebuilt. We’re not going to get our city rebuilt without immigrant labor,” Bass told said on ABC News’ “The Week.”
Bass has repeatedly called for the end of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the city, which began June 6. She and other Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have accused the Trump administration of targeting people based on their skin color — claims the government denies — and sowing fear in the local immigrant community.
Bass has also accused the administration of reneging on its pledge to target those with criminal histories for deportation, saying most of those being detained in local raids are otherwise law-abiding residents, notwithstanding their immigration status.
White House officials have repeatedly defended the deployments.
“President Trump is fulfilling the promise he was elected on — carrying out the largest mass deportation operation of criminal illegal aliens,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman told City News Service in an email.
“While Karen Bass continues to support dangerous policies that put Americans at risk, ICE is removing threats from our streets. Just recently in Los Angeles, ICE arrested a criminal illegal alien with a conviction for second- degree murder, indecent exposure and a final deportation order from 2012.
“This is one of countless successful operations to go after the worst- of-the-worst that Karen Bass opposes. ICE is keeping communities safe, yet Karen Bass wants dangerous criminal illegals, like this man, to stay in America. She couldn’t be more out of touch.”
Asked on ABC who should be deported, Bass initially did not answer the question, but said “even people who are here legally, even people who are U.S. citizens, have been detained. Immigrants who have their papers and were showing up for their — their annual immigration appointment were detained when they showed up doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing.”
Pressed if the nearly “one million undocumented workers” in Los Angeles should be allowed to stay, Bass said, “This is what I think. … What I take it we need is comprehensive immigration reform.”
Reminded that Congress failed to pass such a bill in her 12 years in the House of Representatives, Bass cited a proposed bill in 2024 that received strong support from Democrats, and some Republicans, but ultimately failed after Trump, then a presidential candidate, opposed it.
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“After I left, there was an immigration reform bill that had bipartisan support. This was during the campaign. The president decided he didn’t want to have it happen because he didn’t want immigration reform to happen where he didn’t take credit for it,” she said.
” … Let me just tell you that the people that make that trek, many of whom walk from Central America and even South America up to our border, risk their lives,” the mayor continued. “I don’t believe that all of these people are sitting at home dreaming of coming to Los Angeles. They’re coming here out of desperation.”
Statistics show that illegal crossings at the U.S./Mexico border have dropped to historically low levels after Trump took office in January. Bass was asked if she thought Trump had done anything good at the border.
“I will heap praise on the administration for the first six months in Los Angeles with the fires. If you ask me, is there anything that they have done good in terms of immigration? I don’t know. I don’t think so,” she said. “I think that the viewpoint has been punitive, has been, let’s make it as miserable as possible so that these people don’t come.”
Bass said she has a request in to speak with Trump administration officials about the raids and the ongoing National Guard deployment in the city, but has not had any conversations recently.
“I want to work with the administration to solve this problem. We have the World Cup in 11 short months here. We have the Olympics and Paralympics coming in three short years,” she said.
“I know that these games are very important to the president, and I look forward to working with him and we have an extreme difference on this issue, but there’s many issues for us to work on. And I will continue trying to outreach to the administration and hope that at some point they’ll be responsive.”
