Trump Withdraws National Guard Troops After Federal Court Blocks

The Donald Trump administration is withdrawing hundreds of National Guard troops from Chicago and Portland following a series of legal defeats. The deployments, initiated in October 2025 under Title 10 status to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and protect federal property, were blocked by federal judges who found no evidence of rebellion or legal justification for military intervention in these cities.

In Portland, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued a permanent injunction on November 7 blocking the deployment. While the administration appealed, U.S. Northern Command began a "rightsizing" of its footprint, returning 200 California National Guard members to their home state. However, a conflict remains over the Oregon National Guard; while 100 members have demobilized, another 100 remain in a state of "limbo" after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stayed the district court's injunction on November 20.

In Chicago, a federal judge similarly halted the activation of Texas National Guard troops. Roughly 200 Texas soldiers, who had remained at a training center in Elwood, Illinois, without conducting operations, are returning home before Thanksgiving. Approximately 300 Illinois National Guard members remain in Chicago for training but are legally barred from DHS operations. The Trump administration has filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court of the United States to challenge the Chicago restrictions.

State leaders in Oregon, Illinois, and California condemned the deployments as unnecessary interventions in sovereign states. Despite these setbacks, the president has suggested expanding deployments to other cities and warned he may invoke the Insurrection Act.