Los Angeles, California – As most federal troops begin to leave Los Angeles, approximately 2,000 members of the California National Guard remain stationed across the region, weeks after Governor Gavin Newsom called for a complete end to their deployment. The original contingent—over 4,000 strong—was mobilized under an executive order from President Trump in response to protests and unrest tied to federal immigration enforcement. Now, critics say what was framed as a security measure has devolved into a prolonged and unlawful political display.
According to the California National Guard, many of the deployed servicemembers have been pulled from vital civilian jobs in education, public health, emergency services, and law enforcement. Teachers, corrections officers, and doctors have been temporarily removed from their roles, leaving gaps in essential services across the state. The continued deployment has also siphoned off personnel from CalGuard’s Counterdrug Task Force, which typically works at ports of entry to intercept illegal narcotics and combat transnational criminal organizations. These duties remain suspended or understaffed.
What began as a show of federal strength has now spiraled into a broader debate about state sovereignty, constitutional authority, and the militarization of domestic policy. A coalition of 25 former governors—both Democrats and Republicans—filed a court brief in support of Newsom v. Trump, arguing that the President’s federalization of California’s Guard violates long-standing principles of federalism. That legal challenge is gaining attention as the humanitarian and economic toll of the continued deployment becomes harder to ignore…