The Trump administration is cutting the number of National Guard members in the Los Angeles area by 2,000 after their deployment last month in response to immigration protests, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. “As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen (79th IBCT) from the federal protection mission.”
The decision comes after Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members on June 7, and then an additional 2,000 several days later. The National Guard has now been deployed for over a month, although it is not immediately clear how many have been added or removed over that time.
CNN has reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office for comment.
The California National Guard was called up in response to protests in the Los Angeles area as the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security increased enforcement in southern California. Protests sprung up in different spots across Los Angeles County, but were mostly focused in areas of downtown Los Angeles where federal law enforcement had a more visible presence.
A US District judge had ruled that Trump unlawfully federalized the several thousand members of California’s National Guard, but the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request to lift the lower court’s ruling as the case played out.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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