A federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration from deploying members of the California National Guard in Los Angeles and directed it to return control of the Guard to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The decision from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is the second in which he has ruled against the Trump administration in its efforts to federalize the California National Guard, under a law known as Title 10, and send troops to the streets of Los Angeles to protect federal personnel and property during immigration enforcement operations. Newsom, a Democrat, opposed President Trump’s move to call the state’s National Guard into federal service in support of the president’s immigration crackdown.
Sought by California officials, the preliminary injunction granted by Breyer arose out of orders issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August and October that kept 300 California National Guard troops under federal control to temporarily protect federal immigration agents and other government entities. The October order from Hegseth called for 200 of the California National Guard personnel to deploy to Oregon, with the remaining 100 troops sent to various locations throughout Los Angeles.
The California National Guard members are set to remain in federal service through Feb. 2.
Breyer criticized the Trump administration in his 35-page order for continuing to retain control of roughly 300 Guardsmen, even though he said there is no evidence that federal officials have been hindered in their execution of federal law.
