Trump Withdraws Troops from Los Angeles Despite California Opposition

The administration of US President Donald Trump yesterday, Tuesday, July 15, ended the deployment of 2000 National Guard soldiers in the city of Los Angeles, after more than a month of sending them to protect federal buildings and accompany immigration agents during the arrest of undocumented immigrants, which sparked widespread protests in the city and its surroundings.

The spokesperson for the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon), Sean Barnell, explained that the operation was part of a security plan that began in early June, involving a total of about 4000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines, without clarifying the fate of the remaining soldiers in the area.

The military deployment took place despite the opposition of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who filed a lawsuit against the White House's decision, considering that Trump exceeded his authority.

While a federal judge ruled that Trump acted unlawfully, the appeals court temporarily overturned this decision, allowing the deployment to continue, and the case is still pending before the judiciary.

Newsom strongly criticized the decision, saying that the National Guard "was taken away from their families and jobs to become a political tool in the hands of the president," according to his statement, referring to the security use of forces in the political tension context around immigration and the upcoming elections.

This development comes at a time when internal tensions are escalating in a number of US states regarding immigration policies and the deployment of federal forces in local affairs, causing sharp political divisions between the federal government and opposing states.