US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he is withdrawing National Guard troops from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, following a series of legal setbacks over his deployments in those cities, AFP reported.
Trump had sent troops into several Democrat‑run cities during his first year back in office, describing the move as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration and crime. Local leaders condemned the deployments as authoritarian overreach and launched multiple legal challenges. Last week, the US Supreme Court blocked the Chicago deployment.
“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Wednesday.
In his New Year’s Eve message, Trump said the three cities “were GONE if it weren’t for the Federal Government stepping in.”
“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again -- Only a question of time!” he added.
The National Guard deployments have been a central element of Trump’s hardline approach to immigration and crime since returning to the White House in January. He has also sent troops to Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, and threatened to deploy them to San Francisco.
In recent weeks, the administration had already begun pulling back forces from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland as court rulings went against it.
Los Angeles was the first city to see troops on the streets in June, when Trump ordered 4,000 National Guard reservists to respond to protests over immigration raids. Local leaders argued the protests were limited to a few blocks and could be handled by local and state law enforcement.
On December 10, a federal judge ordered the administration to end the Los Angeles deployment and return control of the troops to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
In early October, Trump ordered military forces from Texas and California to Chicago and Portland. As of last week, about 300 National Guard troops remained activated in the Chicago area but were not engaged in operations.
A federal judge ruled the Portland deployment unlawful in November and ordered it permanently blocked.