National Guard

National Guard troops began patrolling Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday as the Trump Administration continued facing legal challenges to deployments in Democratic-led cities across the country.

Context

President Trump ordered National Guard deployments to multiple US cities, saying troops were needed to protect federal property and personnel during immigration enforcement operations and protests. The deployments targeted Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles, DC, and Memphis, with plans to send troops from states including Texas and California to assist.

Courts Block Deployments

On Thursday, a Federal judge in Illinois temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from deploying National Guard troops in Chicago. The US district judge said on Thursday that she found “no credible evidence that there is a danger of a rebellion in the state of Illinois” and ruled that deploying troops would “only add fuel to the fire.” This comes after another judge did the same for troops in Portland, Oregon.