Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is again calling for an end to the "unnecessary deployment" of National Guard troops in the city after the federal government had them sent to the region in response to immigration enforcement protests.

During a Monday morning news conference, Bass said it is important that the city of Los Angeles be very vocal and consistent in opposition. "I do think they were sending a message with our city, coming to the nation's second largest city, and if they thought they could get away with it here … then they could get away with it anywhere," she said.

The Trump administration initially deployed at least 2,000 California National Guard troops as "numerous incidents of violence and disorder have recently occurred and threaten to continue," according to a June 7 Presidential Memorandum. Eventually, that number jumped to roughly 4,000 California National Guard members and around 700 Marines. The administration said the troops were needed to protect immigration agents and federal property.

Bass called the deployment of the National Guard a "chaotic escalation" of the situation, in a June 8 post to X.

Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said during Monday's news conference that "the job of the American military is to fight and win wars, not police American neighborhoods." She called it a risk in eroding public trust in both the nation's armed forces and in democratic institutions, and it's "not how a free society is supposed to function."

Both the Los Angeles mayor and Gov. Gavin Newsom called the deployment order unnecessary. Newsom said earlier that the "move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions."

The Trump administration argued the deployment was needed to deal with chaotic protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests. The federal government also accused local law enforcement of not doing enough to protect ICE, which local officials denied.

By July 15, roughly six weeks since immigration enforcement operations and protests began in the Los Angeles area, the Trump administration had reassigned around 2,000 Guard troops from their Los Angeles mission, some to wildfire prevention duties.

"Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement at the time.

Speaking about the roughly 2,000 troops that remain in LA, Bass said on Monday that "We need the National Guard to assist us and prepare for fire season, not for an inappropriate deployment where they are just guarding a building that is not under attack." 

Democratic State Senator Caroline Menjivar, and United States Marine Corps veteran, called the deployment of the Marines a "fake deployment" and a waste of taxpayer dollars.

The President invoked Title 10, which states that the President can call Guard troops into federal service to deal with a "rebellion" or if "the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States."  

Newsom said earlier that the remaining 2,000 Guard troops in Los Angeles "continue without a mission." In a statement issued on Monday, the governor emphasized that sentiment, saying, "The women and men of the California National Guard deserve more than to continue serving as puppets in Trump and Stephen Miller's performative political theater." He called for an end to the "militarization once and for all."

After the Los Angeles news conference took place, the Pentagon said Monday morning that the roughly 700 Marines in LA are being sent home from the mission.

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