Hundreds of U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles in recent weeks in response to mass-scale immigration raids and subsequent protests will begin withdrawing from the nation’s second-largest city, the Pentagon confirmed on Monday, July 21.

In a statement, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the redeployment of the Marines, though he did not provide an exact timeline of when all 700 Marines would exit the city. There was also no mention about when, or if, the roughly 2,000 California National Guard members would leave L.A.

“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. We’re deeply grateful for their service, and for the strength and professionalism they brought to this mission,” Parnell said.

The Pentagon’s announcement came around the same time that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, California state Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-San Fernando Valley, as well as local business leaders and military veterans or their spouses, held a news conference to demand that the Trump administration remove all remaining troop members.

Shortly after their press conference ended, Bass, upon learning that the Marines would be leaving, called the latest news “a victory” for Los Angeles.

“I’d like to say that they (the Trump administration) heard from the people of Los Angeles,” Bass said in an X post responding to the news.

Moments before, she and other speakers at a press conference called for a complete end to what they described as an unnecessary deployment – and one they said has weakened troop morale while costing American taxpayers an estimated $134 million.

Joined by military veterans and their loved ones, Bass said the speakers at the press conference were all “appalled at the misuse of our troops right now.” She also cited recent news reports of troop members playing video games on cellphones while waiting to be assigned work because, she said, “they were not needed.”

“We need all of the troops to return home and to … not be used as political stunts, to not be used to intimidate Angelenos, to not be used as pawns,” Bass said.

Monday’s events occurred nearly a week after the defense secretary authorized the withdrawing of about half of the roughly 4,000 California National Guard members that the Trump administration had deployed to Los Angeles beginning since early June. In addition to the National Guard members, the Trump administration had also sent about 700 U.S. Marines to L.A.

Federal officials have said the deployments were necessary to protect federal buildings and workers carrying out immigration raids amid protests, some of which turned violent – though critics downplayed the level of chaos and accused the Trump administration of provoking tensions in the first place.

Menjivar, a former Marine herself, said in the X post alongside Bass that she was “glad to hear my brothers and sisters are going back to their base.”

“Maybe they don’t like Twentynine Palms,” she said, referring to the military base in San Bernardino County. “But,” she added, “they definitely don’t belong here in L.A.”