Judge Ends National Guard Deployment in LA

A federal judge in California has decided that the crisis that once justified keeping National Guard troops in Los Angeles is over. In a ruling Wednesday, per the Los Angeles Times, US District Judge Charles R. Breyer ordered the Trump administration to immediately end its deployment of California National Guard soldiers in the city, finding the government unlawfully kept them there months after large-scale protests over immigration raids subsided. The decision affects about 100 Guard members who remain under federal control in the city. Breyer directed that authority over the troops be returned to Gov. Gavin Newsom, but put his order on hold until Monday, per the New York Times.

Trump federalized about 4,000 California Guard members in June, over objections from state and local officials, saying they were needed to protect federal buildings and personnel. Newsom initially sued to block the deployment, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June that conditions in Los Angeles at the time were sufficient for Trump to take control of the Guard to aid immigration enforcement. California returned to court in November, arguing that the legal basis for continued federal control—a "present exigency" or active emergency—had evaporated.

Justice Department attorneys countered that threats to federal immigration agents persisted, citing the recent arrest of a man accused of attempting to firebomb a federal office building, and argued that the law requires only that an emergency exist when the president first federalizes the troops. After that, they said, "it falls to the president's judgment to determine when that mission can end." Breyer disagreed, noting "no crisis lasts forever," per the New York Times. The federalized troops in Los Angeles have been dwindling in number since July, with about 300 remaining under Trump's command as of November. The administration had plans to keep 100 in the city until February.