The U.S. Department of Defense announced on the 21st (local time) that it has decided to withdraw 700 active-duty Marine Corps personnel deployed in Los Angeles (LA). This comes just over a month after President Donald Trump ordered military troops to be stationed in LA in response to escalating protests against immigration enforcement last month.
Spokesperson Shaun Parnell stated in a statement that "as LA began to stabilize, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the redeployment of the 700 Marines."
Parnell noted, "The presence of the Marines sent a clear message that lawlessness would not be tolerated," adding that they contributed to restoring order in the city and upholding the rule of law with rapid response, unwavering discipline, and a strong presence.
The Marines are expected to complete their withdrawal as early as the 22nd.
This withdrawal of the Marines is an additional measure following the withdrawal of about 2,000 National Guard personnel last week. The Trump administration originally deployed the National Guard and Marines to LA, citing a need to respond to immigration enforcement-related protests starting from June 7. Currently, a military police brigade with a size of 1,892 remains in LA.
The California state government and the city of LA strongly opposed the immediate total withdrawal. LA Mayor Karen Bass criticized, "The Marines had no role to play here," stating that it was "an inappropriate use of our service members who chose to serve." California Governor Gavin Newsom also condemned it, saying, "From day one, it was absurd and a joke."
The federal government is estimated to have incurred about $134 million (approximately 186 billion won) in expenses for this military troop deployment. However, it has been shown that most of the deployed personnel remained at the base without any particular mission.
According to the New York Times (NYT), only about 400 of the 3,882 deployed National Guardsmen were actually engaged in missions.