Nov. 16 (UPI) — Hundreds of troops from the Texas National Guard and California National Guard will return to their home states after their deployment to Chicago and Portland, Ore., reports said Sunday.
President Donald Trump federalized 200 members of the Texas National Guard who were deployed to Chicago on Oct. 6, while another 200 from the California National Guard were deployed to Portland.
Around 300 Illinois National Guard troops were also activated in Chicago, and 200 Oregon National Guard troops were activated in Portland.
The Trump administration has justified the federalization of National Guard troops as a means to protect federal authorities and buildings amid widespread protests over raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies.
Anonymous sources told CBS News and CNN that troops from California and Texas would soon return home, while the Trump administration would reduce the number of federalized Oregon National Guard members from 200 to 100, keeping all 300 Illinois National Guard members in place.
To activate the troops, Trump had invoked Title 10 of the federal code, which allows the president to call up National Guard members from any state if another is “in danger of invasion by a foreign nation” or if there is a “danger of rebellion against the authority of the government.”
The activations prompted immediate lawsuits in Illinois and Oregon, which contested Trump’s justification for federalizing and sending National Guard troops.
U.S. District Court Judge April Perry in her ruling had found that there was “no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois.”
Her ruling was then upheld by a circuit court panel that wrote “political opposition is not rebellion,” blocking the National Guard members from actually deploying on Chicago streets.
The Trump administration then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has issued an order for a supplemental briefing and has not yet granted a full review of the case.
Concurrently, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut granted a temporary restraining order to block the federalization of Oregon National Guard troops in early October, also preventing them from deploying on Chicago streets.
A circuit court panel then stayed her order, permitting their deployment as the case continued through the lower court.
Immergut then issued a ruling on Nov. 7 that found Trump’s federalization order to be unlawful, exceeding his statutory authority under Title 10 and violating the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on state sovereignty, again blocking their deployment. The Trump administration has appealed that case to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, U.S. Northern Command issued a statement Friday that said the U.S. Defense Department would “be shifting” its Title 10 footprint in Portland, Chicago and Los Angeles, which saw troop deployments earlier this year. It indicated that the U.S. would be establishing a “long-term presence” of troops in each city.
“Our work to protect federal functions, personnel, and property remains a top priority — each and every day. 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,” the statement reads.
“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.”