By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (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.
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)
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