(Image Credit: IMAGN) Port St. Lucie police announced Wednesday, July 19, 2023, that they seized 10,000 fentanyl pills worth $300,000 and a pound of cocaine in the city's largest drug bust to date.
Sacramento, California – As President Trump begins to scale back his controversial deployment of nearly 5,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, California officials are raising alarms over the lasting consequences of the months-long federal occupation. Chief among them: a sharp drop in fentanyl interdictions and a deepening disruption of California’s civilian workforce.
Between May and June, the state’s National Guard Counterdrug Task Force reported a 57% decline in fentanyl seizures at border ports of entry — just 260 pounds were recovered in June. The decline follows Trump’s order to divert CalGuard troops from drug interdiction and public safety efforts to bolster a show of force in L.A., part of what critics call an unlawful federalization of the Guard.
Typically, nearly 450 California Guard members support counterdrug operations statewide under the governor’s command, often in specialized roles targeting transnational criminal organizations. But that network has been hollowed out. Troops have been reassigned, and according to state officials, the consequences are mounting.
The Trump administration’s aggressive military posture in California has stirred fears well beyond questions of legality. A UCLA Anderson economic forecast now projects the state’s economy will contract later this year, citing immigration raids and tariffs as key drivers. Already, the state has seen a 3.1% dip in private sector labor force participation — a rate not seen since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At ground level, the effects are personal and immediate. Restaurant owners in Bell and faith leaders in Downey told Governor Gavin Newsom that immigration crackdowns and the militarization of cities have frightened workers, customers, and entire neighborhoods. Among the Guard members pulled into L.A. were not just career soldiers, but doctors, teachers, civil servants, and law enforcement personnel — professionals whose absence ripples across schools, hospitals, and public safety networks.
Now, with 4,700 National Guard troops already demobilizing, only 300 remain in L.A. Their continued presence — and the broader federal approach — faces increasing resistance. Former governors from both parties filed a brief supporting California’s challenge to Trump’s deployment, calling it a breach of the constitutional balance between state and federal authority. A coalition of military leaders and veterans echoed those concerns, warning of the dangers posed by politicizing the Guard.
At the heart of the backlash is the sense that California’s communities have paid the price for a federal power grab. As fentanyl continues to flow, essential workers are missing from their jobs, and small businesses struggle to stay open, the question remains: how much longer can the state afford this disruption?
