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Hundreds of National Guard troops stationed in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, are being withdrawn and those remaining will continue to avoid street duty amid ongoing legal disputes concerning their domestic deployment by the Trump administration, a defense official revealed on Monday.
The decision to pull back soldiers—who were initially dispatched from California and Texas—reflects a broader adjustment to troop placements following President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement in several Democratic-led cities. The official, not permitted to speak publicly on the matter, requested anonymity.
In a statement released on Sunday, U.S. Northern Command announced that it was “shifting and/or rightsizing” units in Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago, while maintaining that there would be a “constant, enduring, and long-term presence in each city.”
According to the official, all 200 California National Guard troops currently stationed in Portland will return home in the coming days. Additionally, the military plans to reduce the number of Oregon National Guard troops in Portland from 200 to 100 soldiers.
Similarly, approximately 200 Texas National Guard troops in Chicago are also being sent back, with an additional 200 soldiers poised to remain on standby at Fort Bliss, an Army base that spans parts of Texas and New Mexico, the official stated.
About 300 Illinois National Guard troops will remain in the Chicago area, also doing training, but they currently are not legally allowed to conduct operations with the Department of Homeland Security, the official said.
The official said the upcoming holiday season may have played a role in the change in deployments.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, applauded the return of all California National Guard troops in Oregon, saying Trump “never should have illegally deployed our troops in the first place.”
“We’re glad they’re finally coming home,” she wrote in an email. “It’s long overdue!”
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek called on the Trump administration to demobilize the remaining 100 troops in her state, as well.
“Members of the Oregon National Guard, who are our friends and neighbors, have been away from their families and jobs for 50 days on an unnecessary deployment,” Kotek said in a written statement. “With the holidays approaching, every single member deserves to go home.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the Trump administration doesn’t communicate its plans with state leaders and was still threatening to federalize more troops.
“This confirms what we have always known: This is about normalizing military forces in American cities,” Pritzker spokesman Matt Hill said in a statement Saturday.
Hill didn’t immediately return a message left Monday.
Democratic cities targeted by Trump for military involvement — including Chicago, which filed a separate lawsuit on the issue currently before the U.S. Supreme Court — have been pushing back. They argue the president has not satisfied the legal threshold for deploying troops and that doing so would violate states’ sovereignty.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut in Portland this month issued a permanent injunction blocking Trump from deploying troops in the city, saying he had failed to establish that he was legally entitled to do so. On Sunday, the administration filed an emergency motion seeking to put the ruling on hold while it appeals.
Separately, the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement in Charlotte, North Carolina, expanding an aggressive campaign that’s been spearheaded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
National Guard deployments have been one of the most controversial initiatives of Trump’s second term, demonstrating an expanded willingness to use the military to accomplish domestic goals.
Troops, including active-duty Marines, were deployed to Los Angeles during immigration protests earlier this year.
The National Guard was also sent to Washington, D.C., where they were part of a broader federal intervention that Trump claimed was necessary because of crime problems.
The deployments later expanded to Portland and Chicago.
Although they don’t play a law enforcement role, members of the National Guard have been tasked with protecting federal facilities, particularly those run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
About 100 troops who have been in Los Angeles will remain on deployment there, the defense official said.
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AP journalists Chris Megerian in Washington, Gene Johnson in Seattle and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.
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This story corrects that all California National Guard troops deployed to Oregon will return and none will remain.