National Guard troops seen patrolling in Memphis, as judge blocks deployment in Chicago

National Guard troops began patrolling in Memphis , Tennesse, on Friday, Oct. 10, the city confirmed, as the Trump administration continues to battle lawsuits against similar deployments across the country.

Troops in Army fatigues could be seen crossing a parking lot at the Tennessee State Welcome Center shortly before 10 a.m. The back of their uniforms read "military police." Members of the National Guard wear the uniform of their federal military branch.

It was not immediately clear how many troops were in the city or what locations they would be patrolling and when. At least 11 military police troops could be seen meeting up in the welcome center parking lot, speaking with Memphis Police Department officers.

Unlike the governors of Ilinois, California and Oregon, who have all sued over the troop deployments, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee welcomed the federal intervention.

National Guard members arrive in Illinois despite governor, Chicago mayor objections

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Texas National Guard troops walk through the Joliet Army Reserve Training Center, after President Donald Trump ordered increased federal law enforcement presence to assist in crime prevention, in Elwood, Illinois, Oct. 7, 2025. Two hundred Texas National Guard troops have arrived in Illinois, a Pentagon official said Tuesday, ahead of a planned deployment in Chicago that is strongly opposed by local Democratic officials. The troops were sent as part of a mission to protect "federal functions, personnel, and property," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the Guardsmen have been mobilized for "an initial period of 60 days." The planned deployment of troops from Texas has infuriated Democratic Governor JB Pritzker, who said they "should stay the hell out of Illinois."

Lawsuits filed over Guard deployment in Chicago, Portland, LA and DC

The deployment comes days after judges blocked similar moves in Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Government lawyers in both cases said troops were needed to protect federal officers and property from demonstrators.

In Chicago on Oct. 9, U.S. District Judge April M. Perry cast doubt on the Department of Homeland Security's version of events and granted part of Illinois' request to block the deployment of troops to the nation's third-largest city.

Perry said deploying troops would only "only add fuel to the fire that defendants themselves have started." She cited a number of recent legal rulings against the Trump administration in federal court in Chicago.

Lawyers for the government filed a notice of their intention to appeal the ruling. Perry is expected to issue a full written opinion Oct. 10 outlining her rationale for the decision.

Meanwhile, a federal appeals court heard arguments concerning a  lower court's order that blocked the deployment  of National Guard troops in Portland. The conservative majority of the three-judge panel appeared skeptical of the state's arguments, which could pave the way for hundreds of soldiers to enter the city.

Those legal battles come after a trial court in Los Angeles ruled Trump's deployment of Guard troops there during the summer was illegal. The Trump administration appealed the decision to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which overruled the lower court ruling in June, citing flare ups of violence and property damage during anti-ICE protests.

In September, the city government in the Washington, DC, also sued the Trump administration  arguing the  deployment of 2,200 National Guard troops is unconstitutional and violates federal law.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: National Guard troops patrol Memphis; judge blocks Chicago deployment