President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is ending efforts to station National Guard troops in Chicago and Portland, as well as halting the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, which is now on hold after legal setbacks.
The move puts on hold – at least for now – a signature second-term move to use federal Guard troops to support immigration enforcement and crime-fighting operations in Democratic-run cities, an effort that has repeatedly run up against judges. (RELATED: Supreme Court won't allow Trump to deploy National Guard to Illinois)
“We are withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland even though CRIME has been greatly reduced by the presence of these great Patriots in these cities and by that fact ONLY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also warned that federal forces could return “in a completely different and stronger form” if crime rises again.
Trump's decision follows a Dec. 23 Supreme Court decision. order V Trump v. Illinois denying the administration's request to stay a district court's temporary restraining order prohibiting the stationing of federal Guard troops in the state.
In its unsigned order, the court said that at this point in the case, the administration had not demonstrated legal authority to use the military to “execute the laws” in Illinois. “At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify the source of authority that would enable the military to enforce laws in Illinois,” the order states.
The ruling focused on 10 USC § 12406(3) – statute Trump relied on federalizing Guard members when he is “unable, through regular forces, to carry out the laws of the United States” — and concluded that “regular forces” likely meant the U.S. military rather than civilian law enforcement.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred, while Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
Guard troops had already left Los Angeles, and troops sent toward Chicago and Portland never appeared on the streets while the trials unfolded, the Associated Press reported. reported.
