The number of troops guarding federal buildings in the Los Angeles area reduced further Wednesday after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered over 1,300 to end their deployment.
President Donald Trump federalized several thousand California National Guard troops in June to assist immigration enforcement operations and protect federal facilities amid civil unrest in response to the administration’s mass deportation effort throughout Southern California and nationwide.
“On Wednesday, Secretary Hegseth ordered the release of approximately 1,350 California National Guardsmen from the federal protection mission,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. “Approximately 250 California National Guardsmen remain in Los Angeles to protect federal personnel and property. We greatly appreciate the support of the more than 5,000 Guardsmen and Marines who mobilized to Los Angeles to defend Federal functions against the rampant lawlessness occurring in the city.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom welcomed the move and called for the remaining military personnel’s withdrawal.
“President Trump is realizing that his political theater backfired. This militarization was always unnecessary and deeply unpopular,” Newsom said in his statement. “The President must do the right thing to end this illegal militarization now because the economic and societal impacts are dire. The women and men of our military deserve more than to be used as props in the federal government’s propaganda machine.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also praised the drawdown.
“Another win for Los Angeles,” Bass posted on social media Wednesday night. “We will continue this pressure until ALL troops are out of L.A.”
Wednesday’s order follows the Pentagon’s earlier removal of about 2,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from the LA area.
In June, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began operations in Los Angeles and throughout the county, triggering widespread protests and clashes with federal immigration agents.
In response, Trump ordered 2,000 California National Guard troops be placed under federal control and sent to Los Angeles to protect federal property. An additional 2,000 Cal Guard soldiers and 700 Marines later joined the deployment.
Since the June 7 deployment, Newsom and others have criticized Trump’s federalization of the National Guard. The governor, Bass and Democratic politicians in the region called the move an unnecessary militarization of immigration law enforcement, and Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the federalization. A federal judge, however, ruled in favor of the Trump administration.
The Pentagon estimated the LA troop deployment will cost around $134 million.
Newsom’s office noted adverse economic consequences for the LA region as a result of the administration’s deportation campaign.
“The number of people reporting to work in the private sector in California decreased by 3.1% — a downturn only recently matched by the period when people stayed home from work during the COVID-19 lockdown,” according to the governor’s office.
State officials said the immigration raids, as well as the Trump administration’s tariff policies, will likely cause the state’s economy to contract later this year as Los Angeles and other cities experience disruptions in the key sectors of construction, hospitality and agriculture, a forecast by the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
The governor’s office estimated that “mass arrests, detentions and deportations in California could slash $275 billion from the state’s economy and eliminate $23 billion in annual tax revenue,” officials said.
Undocumented immigrants contributed $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, with an estimated increase to $10.3 billion if they could apply to work lawfully, according to Newsom’s office.
Last week, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, proposed legislation that aims to make it easier for undocumented residents to obtain legal immigration status and work permits.
