---
title: "Marines ending Los Angeles deployment, Pentagon says"
description: "WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The Pentagon announced on Monday it was ending its deployment of some 700 active-duty Marines sent to Los Angeles last month to protect federal property and personnel during a spate of protests tied to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-21-marines-ending-los-angeles-deployment-pentagon-says/"
published: "2025-07-21T21:18:31"
updated: "2025-07-21T21:18:32"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 317
---

# Marines ending Los Angeles deployment, Pentagon says

> WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The Pentagon announced on Monday it was ending its deployment of some 700 active-duty Marines sent to Los Angeles last month to protect federal property and personnel during a spate of protests tied to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

By Reuters · Published 21 July 2025, 23:18 SAST · Updated 21 July 2025, 23:18 SAST

## Key points
- In a dramatic twist worthy of a Hollywood script, the Pentagon has decided to pull 700 Marines from Los Angeles, declaring the city stable again after a military presence that sparked a national debate on using troops to enforce immigration laws—because nothing says "law and order" quite like deploying the military against your own citizens.
- Pentagon announces redeployment of 700 Marines from Los Angeles as stability returns, following previous troop reductions.
- Deployment aimed to quell protests against immigration raids, despite opposition from California's Governor Gavin Newsom.
- Trump's military involvement in immigration enforcement sparks national debate and legal challenges, with ongoing lawsuits against his tactics.
- Administration expands military presence at the border, establishing zones to detain migrants without invoking the Insurrection Act.

## Content

By Phil Stewart

The withdrawal follows last week's decision to remove about half of the 4,000 National Guard troops also sent to Los Angeles.

"With stability returning to Los Angeles, the Secretary has directed the redeployment of the 700 Marines whose presence sent a clear message: Lawlessness will not be tolerated," said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

Trump deployed the Marines and California National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June, against the wishes of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, to quell protests triggered by immigration raids on workplaces by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Despite legal challenges, a U.S. appeals court let Trump retain control of California's National Guard.

Trump's decision to send troops into Los Angeles prompted a national debate about the use of the military on U.S. soil and inflamed political tension in the country's second-most-populous city.

The Pentagon has defended the deployment, saying that safeguarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ensures they can do their jobs, and praised the Marines on Monday.

"Their rapid response, unwavering discipline, and unmistakable presence were instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law," Parnell said.

Trump has vowed to deport millions of people in the country illegally and has executed raids at work sites including farms that had been largely exempted from enforcement during his first term. The administration has faced dozens of lawsuits across the country challenging its tactics.

Trump has increasingly turned to the military in his immigration crackdown.

In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles, thousands of active-duty troops have been deployed to the border with Mexico, and the Pentagon has created military zones in the border area.

The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events such as civil disorder.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Leslie Adler)