Trump Announces Withdrawal of National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland

Donald Trump Takes Major Step in His Policy

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced that he is halting efforts to deploy federal troops in several Democrat-run cities, marking a significant policy shift. The announcement was made on Wednesday amidst legal obstacles regarding the deployment of the National Guard members in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and Portland, Oregon.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that he is "pulling back" the National Guard from these cities, although their deployment had already been limited by lower courts. "We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been significantly reduced due to these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY because of this fact," he declared.

However, the National Guard has been barred from directly engaging in law enforcement, which is illegal under American law. Trump did not invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allows the president to deploy troops on domestic soil in cases of "obstructions, combinations, or illegal assemblies" against the federal government.

Therefore, the troops deployed in or around Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago have primarily been tasked with protecting federal buildings and providing immigration enforcement support. Approximately 300 members of the National Guard remained under federal control in Los Angeles and Chicago, while 200 were present in Portland.

Trump stated that major U.S. cities are facing crises of crime and immigration. His announcement did not mention the continued deployment of the National Guard in Washington, DC, or in New Orleans, Louisiana, which had been specifically requested by the Republican governor of the state.

The withdrawal follows a series of legal hurdles, including a Supreme Court decision that upheld a lower court ruling prohibiting the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago. Generally, National Guard troops are deployed at the request of state governors, and presidents can only deploy units in situations where federal agents can no longer enforce the law.

Nevertheless, Trump asserted that he would not hesitate to reintroduce troops, stating: "We will be back, possibly in a form much different and stronger when crime starts to rise again – it's only a matter of time!"