The American army, on the orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is withdrawing 2,000 members of the National Guard from Los Angeles. A total of 4,000 guardsmen were sent to the city more than a month ago because of protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
According to Defense Spokesman Sean Parnell, the partial withdrawal is due to the success of the mission. “Thanks to our troops, lawlessness in Los Angeles is decreasing.” Earlier, the protests flared up further after the deployment of the National Guard.
In Los Angeles, there were fierce protests against arrests of immigrants. The arrests were carried out by immigration service ICE, which under Trump is acting much more strictly against immigrants in the US.
In addition to the 2,000 guardsmen who remain, there are also 700 Marines present. According to the Pentagon, they remain in Los Angeles to protect government property and personnel. Critics say they are only there to intimidate people.
Trump deployed National Guard without consultation
There was much criticism of the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. Trump sent the troops to the city without consulting Mayor Karen Bass and the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. He felt they were not in control of the situation.
The protests were limited to a small part of the metropolis. There were disturbances such as vandalism, arson and throwing objects at the police, but that happened on a small scale. The vast majority of demonstrators protested peacefully.
A federal judge banned the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, the troops were allowed to remain in the city as long as an appeal procedure is pending.
Deploying the National Guard is a serious means of maintaining order. It is almost unheard of for the American president to do that without consultation. An expert told The New York Times that it is the first time in sixty years that a president has deployed the National Guard in a state without the permission of the governor concerned.
