Trump’s National Guard deployment isn’t over in these 3 cities
National Guard soldiers have fully withdrawn from Los Angeles; Chicago; and Portland, Oregon, military officials said, ending federalized troop operations in half of the cities where the Trump administration launched them last year.
The troops completed their withdrawal as of Jan. 21, according to U.S. Northern Command, which noted the demobilizations on its website. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the troops’ departure, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
President Donald Trump announced in December that the soldiers would be leaving after the Supreme Court blocked his administration from sending troops to Chicago, ruling its justification insufficient. Trump has credited National Guard members with reducing crime rates, though crime was already trending down in cities where soldiers were deployed.
“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” Trump said in a social media post in December, adding: “We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again.”
The drawdown ends the controversial missions launched over the objections of state and local officials who responded with a series of legal challenges, several of which led to rulings that found the deployments unlawful.
But while hundreds of National Guard soldiers have departed from three U.S. cities, thousands remain in Washington, New Orleans and Memphis, Tennessee, under the command of Republican governors or Trump himself.
Here’s what to know about the withdrawals and the ongoing deployments.
National Guard troops federalized amid immigration push
Guard troops were first sent to Los Angeles in June following protests over aggressive immigration raids, marking the first time since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s that a state’s National Guard was federalized without a formal request from the governor.
Over the next six months, the administration launched similar deployments across the country.
While the Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland deployments stemmed from protests, the missions in Washington, Memphis and New Orleans were tied to broader crime‑reduction efforts, though immigration advocates and attorneys in those cities also reported increased immigration raids.
In Washington, troops were routinely seen picking up trash, laying mulch in tourist areas and patrolling train platforms. In November, a gunman shot two National Guard troops near the White House, killing Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injuring Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.
Troops in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland were federalized under Title 10 status, limiting them from engaging in law enforcement actions such as arrests or searches. Soldiers in Memphis and New Orleans, who remain under state control, have broader authority to detain people.
Lawsuits hamper National Guard deployments
Every deployment except the one in New Orleans has faced significant legal challenges, with multiple judges ruling the mobilizations unlawful. On appeal, the Trump administration has received both temporary victories and losses.
In December, a federal appeals court allowed National Guard troops to remain in Washington, reversing a lower court ruling that had deemed it unlawful. The same month, the Supreme Court ruled against the administration’s use of the National Guard, blocking it from sending troops to Chicago.
“At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the majority wrote in its brief opinion.
The administration has appealed rulings by federal judges in Chicago and Oregon that deemed the deployments unconstitutional. Those appeals are pending.
How long will the remaining deployments last?
The roughly 350 soldiers deployed to New Orleans are expected to leave at the end of February, according to Louisiana state officials.
Nearly 3,000 troops in Washington are expected to remain there through the end of the year.
No withdrawal date has been set for the 1,500 Guard members in Memphis. The Tennessee Court of Appeals is expected hear arguments in March on whether to sustain a lower court’s order blocking the use of National Guard troops there.
National Guard deployments cost almost $500 million last year
Trump’s deployments of the military to American cities cost taxpayers nearly $500 million in 2025 and would cost more than $1.1 billion if continued for another year, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
The estimate found that Trump’s deployments of soldiers to five U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and Washington, cost around $496 million.
According to internal military budget information obtained by USA TODAY in September, the deployment of National Guard troops to Washington costs more than $1.8 million per day. The CBO analysis found that another year of the Washington deployment will cost roughly $55 million per month, or $660 million for the whole year.
Christopher Cann is a national breaking news reporter for USA Today. Contact him via email at ccann@usatoday.com.
Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today; Brooke Muckerman, Memphis Commercial Appeal
This article originally appeared on USA Today
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