Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday echoed calls from local officials for an end to the remaining National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles.
According to Newsom’s office, pressure continues mounting for the President Donald Trump to withdraw the 2,000 federalized California National Guard soldiers, who the administration deployed to protect federal buildings and accompany federal agents during immigration enforcement operations.
Last week, the Pentagon announced 2,000 National Guard troops would leave the city, followed by the announcement Monday that 700 U.S. Marines in the area would also withdraw.
“The women and men of the California National Guard deserve more than to continue serving as puppets in Trump and Stephen Miller’s performative political theater,” Newsom said in a statement. “There was never a need for the military to deploy against civilians in Los Angeles. The damage is done, however. We, again, call upon them to do the right thing and end the militarization once and for all.”
Now that more than half of the 4,700 troops stationed in the LA area since June have left, many remain without a clear mission, direction or a timeline for returning to their communities, according to Newsom’s office.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly defended the deployment and criticized the administration’s political foes, saying, “700 Marines are returning home because of their incredible success in restoring law and order to Los Angeles — despite Democrats’ dangerous rhetoric that encouraged rioters to attack law enforcement and destroy property.
“Karen Bass and Gavin Newscum should be thanking our military men and women, as well as President Trump, for protecting the rule of law,” Kelly said in a statement to HeySoCal.com. “Clearly, they missed the memo that Americans overwhelmingly support the President’s agenda to remove illegal immigrant murderers, rapists, and criminals of all kinds from our streets.”
Earlier Monday, LA Mayor Karen Bass repeated her call for an end to the local troop deployment. State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Panorama City, a former member of the Marine Corps, joined Bass during a morning news conference in Sylmar, along with other military veterans and families of service members who support a troop withdrawal.
The governor’s office noted that a bipartisan group of 25 former governors filed a brief in support of Newsom v. Trump, urging the court to enforce state sovereignty and block the federalization of the National Guard.
Retired four-star admirals and generals and former secretaries of the Army and Navy filed another amicus brief on the risks of Trump’s CalGuard takeover.
State officials also said the California National Guard estimates its service members have been pulled from key civilian duties such as medical and first responders, service workers, building contractors, law enforcement and corrections officers, civil service and government workers, technology specialists, educators and agriculture workers.
Usually under the governor’s command, nearly 450 soldiers are deployed statewide, including at ports of entry to fight transnational criminal organizations and seize illegal drugs, officials said. California National Guard troops from the state’s Counterdrug Task Force have been reassigned by President Trump for the Los Angeles deployment.
Newsom’s office also noted the economic impact of the Trump administration’s mass-deportation campaign and the governor’s meeting last week with restaurant owners in Bell and faith-community leaders in Downey.
“Trump’s actions have a ripple effect — the state’s economy is likely to contract later this year due to fallout from global tariffs and immigration raids in Los Angeles and other cities that have rattled key sectors, including construction, hospitality, and agriculture,” the governor’s office reported, citing a UCLA Anderson forecast. “Mass arrests, detentions and deportations in California could slash $275 billion from the state’s economy and eliminate $23 billion in annual tax revenue.”
The loss of immigrant workers — undocumented individuals as well as those losing lawful status under Trump administration rules — is expected to cause delays in post-wildfire rebuilding, reduce the food supply and drive up costs, officials said. Undocumented immigrants paid $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, which is projected to increase to $10.3 billion if they could apply to work lawfully.
During his first administration in 2018, Trump said, “Illegal immigration affects the lives of all Americans. Illegal immigration hurts American workers; burdens American taxpayers; and undermines public safety; and places enormous strain on local schools, hospitals, and communities in general, taking precious resources away from the poorest Americans who need them most. Illegal immigration costs our country billions and billions of dollars each year. … And I will therefore take every lawful action at my disposal to address this crisis. And that’s what we’re doing.”
On the campaign trail in October, Trump’s anti-immigrant tone was harsher. While speaking of a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant in the country illegally, Trump declared, “The Democrats say, ‘Please don’t call them animals. They’re humans.’ I said, ‘No, they’re not humans, they’re not humans, they’re animals.'”
In a 2015 speech announcing his presidential campaign, Trump said if immigrants from Mexico, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is currently considering Newsom’s lawsuit challenging Trump’s takeover of the California National Guard.
