US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration was pulling the National Guard out of Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, but added in a social media post that federal forces would "come back" if crime increases, "Reuters" reported.
Local leaders in these cities and Democrats say the troop deployment, which has faced legal challenges, was unnecessary. They accused the Trump administration of overstepping federal authority and exaggerating isolated episodes of violence during mostly peaceful protests to justify sending in troops.
Trump said the deployment of troops to Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Memphis and Portland was necessary to combat crime and protect federal property and personnel from protesters.
"We are withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, despite the fact that crime has been significantly reduced due to the presence of these great patriots in these cities, and ONLY due to that fact," Trump wrote.
"We will be back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime starts to rise again - it's only a matter of time!"
Judges hearing the cases brought by Cities challenging the deployment of troops have consistently ruled that the Trump administration has exceeded its authority and found no evidence to support claims that the troops are needed to protect federal property from protesters.
On December 23, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Trump's attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Illinois, a decision that undermines his legal basis for sending troops to other states.
The court said that the president's authority to take federal control of National Guard troops likely applies only in "exceptional" circumstances. circumstances.
"At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to enforce the laws in Illinois," the majority of the court ruled in an unsigned order.
Trump began deploying troops in June amid protests against his tough immigration policies, including efforts to increase deportations.
The head of state also deployed troops to Washington and took control of local police in response to what he said was rising crime - even though local crime statistics indicated otherwise - using his unique power as president.
The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago previously sued Trump to block the deployment of the National Guard to the region.