Hundreds of National Guard troops that were dispatched to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Illinois, from California and Texas in response to protests over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown will return to their home states, a Defense Department official confirmed to CBS News Saturday.
Last month, about 200 federalized California National Guard soldiers were sent to Portland, while another 200 federalized Texas National Guard soldiers were sent to Chicago. All those soldiers will return home, the official said.
In both cases, the White House had argued that the troops were being sent to “protect federal assets and personnel,” with the president invoking Title 10 of the federal code, which allows for its use if the president deems that “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States.”Â
Federal judges, however — in response to lawsuits brought by city and state officials — had so far blocked federalized National Guard soldiers from actually being deployed on the streets of Portland and Chicago, keeping them in a kind of holding pattern while they awaited the legal wrangling of their cases to play out.
The Trump administration on Friday appealed a ruling to the Supreme Court which permanently barred the deployment of National Guard troops in Portland.
The defense official also told CBS News that the number of federalized Oregon National Guard members will be reduced from 200 to 100. The approximately 300 Illinois National Guard members that were previously federalized as part of the operation will remain under federal control, the official added.
Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
This comes after U.S. Northern Command issued a statement Friday which said that the Department of War, the Trump administration’s preferred name for the Defense Department, would “be shifting and/or rightsizing our Title 10 footprint in Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago to ensure a constant, enduring, and long-term presence in each city.”
Portland and Chicago have seen months-long demonstrations at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. Mr. Trump’s controversial decision to attempt to deploy federal troops in response has prompted heavy pushback from local and state officials, who criticize the move as an unnecessary escalation.
Citing either crime or a need to protect federal property and personnel from protesters, Mr. Trump also deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Memphis.Â
Eleanor Watson
contributed to this report.
