L.A. Mayor Karen Bass calls for members of National Guard and Marines to leave the city

LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is calling for members of the National Guard and Marines to leave the city.

The troops were first moved into the city in June after destructive protests in the downtown area, but Mayor Bass says the federal forces were not needed then, and are less necessary now.

"We need the National Guard to assist us and prepare for fire season, not for an inappropriate development or inappropriate deployment, where they are just guarding a building that is not under attack," Bass said.

Some of those troops have since been recalled, but Bass is pushing for the rest of them to leave, saying opposing the use of federal forces in city matters is vital for cities across the nation.

"I think if we didn't do this, if we had no protests or anything like that, then maybe the administration would take away the signal that this is okay, that communities are going to accept it. And what I guarantee you, if they flood the zone in New York or some of these other cities, they're going to be met with a massive backlash."

Mayor Karen Bass (D-Calif.)

Bass has repeatedly called for the end of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the city.

"As long as this climate of fear continues, people are not going to go to work. They're not going to patronize businesses. We had a raid in Brentwood the other day where they were rounding up gardeners and landscapers. It's hard for me to believe they're hardened criminals. Nobody is standing here defending hardened criminals. That's not what this is about. This is about everyday working people who are trying to survive and who are not being able to because of the climate of fear that has been placed over a city."

Mayor Karen Bass (D-Calif.)

She and other Democrats, including Governor Gavin Newsom, have accused the Trump Administration of targeting people based on their race, claims the government denies.