Hundreds of National Guard troops deployed in Portland and Chicago are being sent home

Hundreds of National Guard troops deployed to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, are being sent home, and those who stay will remain off the streets amid court battles by the Trump administration over their domestic mission, a defense official said Monday.

The withdrawal of soldiers, sent from California and Texas, is part of a broader shift in troop deployments after President Donald Trump began his crackdown on immigration in several Democratic-led cities. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and requested anonymity.

U.S. Northern Command said in a statement Sunday that it was “shifting and/or right-sizing” units in Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago, though it said there would be a “long-term, sustained, and consistent presence in each city.”

In the coming days, all 200 California National Guard soldiers currently deployed in Portland will be sent home, the official said. The Army also plans to reduce the number of Oregon National Guard troops deployed there from 200 soldiers to 100, the official said.

About 200 Texas National Guard soldiers in Chicago also will be sent home and about 200 soldiers will be on standby at Fort Bliss, an Army base that spans parts of Texas and New Mexico, the official said.

About 300 Illinois National Guard soldiers will remain in the Chicago area, also conducting training, but are not currently legally authorized to conduct operations with the Department of Homeland Security, the official said.

The official said the upcoming holiday season may have influenced the change in deployments.

AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File

Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokeswoman for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, applauded the return of all California National Guard troops to Oregon and said Trump “should never have illegally deployed our troops in the first place.”

“We are glad they are finally coming home,” he wrote in an email. “It should have been done a long time ago!”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek called on the Trump administration to also demobilize the remaining 100 troops in her state.

“Members of the Oregon National Guard, who are our friends and neighbors, have been away from their families and jobs for 50 days in an unnecessary deployment,” Kotek said in a written statement. “As the holidays approach, all members deserve to go home.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the Trump administration is not communicating its plans to state leaders and was still threatening to federalize more troops.

“This confirms what we’ve always known: This is about normalizing military forces in American cities,” Pritzker spokesman Matt Hill said in a statement Saturday.

Hill did not immediately return a message left Monday.

Democratic cities targeted by Trump for their 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 that the president has not met 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 to the city, saying he had not shown he had the legal right to do so. On Sunday, the administration filed an emergency motion seeking to stay the ruling while it appeals.

Separately, the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement in Charlotte, North Carolina, expanding an aggressive campaign led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

National Guard deployments have been one of the most controversial initiatives of Trump’s second term, demonstrating a greater willingness to use the military to achieve domestic goals.

The National Guard was also sent to Washington, D.C., where they were part of a broader federal intervention that Trump said was necessary because of crime problems.

Deployments later expanded to Portland and Chicago.

Although they do not serve in a law enforcement role, members of the National Guard have been tasked with protecting federal facilities, particularly those managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

About 100 soldiers who have been in Los Angeles will remain deployed there, the defense official said.

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AP writers 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.