Hundreds of National Guard members from Texas and California that were sent to Chicago and Oregon are being recalled to their home states after a series of court-imposed roadblocks to the deployment.
“We are prepared to commit as many troops as needed, for as long as needed, to support our law enforcement partners in cities across the country. To that end, in the coming days, the Department will 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,” U.S. Northern Command posted on X on Friday. “Our troops in each city (and others) are trained and ready, and will be employed whenever needed to support law enforcement and keep our citizens safe.”
The troops being recalled include 200 federalized California National Guard members sent to Portland, Ore., and another 200 federalized Texas National Guard members sent to Chicago in response to protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The troops were deployed in early October by the Trump administration but were barred from carrying out operations by federal court orders.
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Northern Command declined NOTUS’ request for clarification on the timeline for the troop withdrawal and what it signifies for overall operations in Portland and Chicago.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted on X that the department has no intentions of scaling back its operations in Chicago, where immigration agents have been under close scrutiny for using tear gas against protesters and journalists.
“We aren’t leaving Chicago,” McLaughlin posted last week along with a list of statistics on the agency’s “Operation Midway Blitz.”
“Homicides are down 16%, shootings down 35%, robberies down 41%, carjackings down 48% [and] transit crime down 20%,” the post continued.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, “Midway Blitz” has resulted in the arrest of “more than 4,000 illegal aliens, including rapists, murderers, and gang members” in the Chicago area. However, a district judge on Friday ordered the release of hundreds of detainees who are not subject to mandatory detention and don’t have final orders of removal.
As out-of-state National Guard troops prepare to withdraw from Chicago and Portland, the administration moved federal forces to Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend.
National Guard troops stationed in Washington, D.C., recently had their orders extended through February, and Trump has said his sights are set on New Orleans next.
“So we’re making a determination now,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in September. “Do we go to a place like New Orleans, where we have a great governor, Jeff Landry, who wants us to come in and straighten out a very nice section of this country that’s become quite, you know, quite tough, quite bad.”
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the agency for Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin and the source for the administration’s 4,000 arrest figure.
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