Pentagon to withdraw 700 Marines from Los Angeles

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Pentagon announced Monday that 700 active-duty Marines deployed to Los Angeles last month will withdraw in the coming days.

The Marines were deployed on June 9 amid protests in the city’s downtown area over the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. Some 4,000 National Guard soldiers were also deployed.

The protests erupted after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided local businesses and detained hundreds of people suspected of living in the US illegally.

The administration said the ICE raids would continue as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration.

“With stability returning to Los Angeles, the Secretary (of Defense) has directed the redeployment of the 700 Marines,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement quoted by several US media outlets.

He praised the Marines’ “rapid response” and said their presence “sent a clear message: lawlessness will not be tolerated.”

The Marines are expected to return to Twentynine Palms, 241 kilometers (150 miles) east of the city "in the coming days," The Washington Post reported.

The deployment — made without California Governor Gavin Newsom’s consent — marked the first such move in decades.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, in a video statement on X, called the Marines’ departure “a victory.”