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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Wednesday to immediately end its current deployment of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles, ruling that the federal government had illegally kept them in the city long after intense street protests had ended in the summer.<\/p>\n
The ruling<\/a> by Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Francisco applies to about 100 National Guard soldiers who remain in Los Angeles six months after protests erupted over immigration raids.<\/p>\n Judge Breyer directed the federal government to return control of the troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, but he stayed his order until Monday. The Trump administration is expected to appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances,\u201d Judge Breyer wrote in his decision. \u201cDefendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n President Trump originally called up about 4,000 California National Guard troops in June, over the objections of state and local officials. At the time, he argued that they were responding to an emergency and were needed to protect federal property and personnel amid heated demonstrations.<\/p>\n The president began gradually<\/a> drawing down the number of federalized troops in July. As of last month, roughly 300 California National Guard members remained under the president\u2019s command. The administration was in the process of reducing the deployment to 100 troops, who were supposed to remain federalized until February.<\/p>\n Mr. Newsom sued over the initial deployment, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in June<\/a> that conditions in Los Angeles were sufficient for Mr. Trump to take control of the state\u2019s National Guard and direct troops to protect the enforcement of immigration laws.<\/p>\n The state filed a new request for an injunction in November, arguing that civil unrest in Los Angeles had declined significantly since the summer and that military forces were no longer justified. The president\u2019s authority to command National Guard troops is specifically tied to \u201cthe existence of a present exigency,\u201d Meghan Strong, a California deputy attorney general, argued in a hearing on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce that exigency has passed, the federalization has to end,\u201d Strong said.<\/p>\n