A federal judge in Chicago announced on Thursday her decision to temporarily halt U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy hundreds of National Guard soldiers in Illinois. This action follows a recent ruling in Portland, Oregon, where another judge blocked a similar deployment. U.S. District Judge April Perry expressed concerns that allowing Guard troops in the state could exacerbate the situation, following lengthy arguments presented by lawyers representing the U.S. government and the state of Illinois, which had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment. The judge stated that a detailed written order would be released the following day.
Earlier on Thursday, Guard soldiers were observed patrolling near a suburban Chicago immigration facility that has been a focal point for protests in recent weeks. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court panel in San Francisco indicated a likelihood of overturning the ruling that blocked Trump’s deployment in Portland, potentially paving the way for the entry of hundreds of soldiers into the city.
The outcomes of these legal battles hold significant implications for Trump’s ongoing efforts to deploy military personnel in U.S. cities, despite objections from their Democratic leaders. Government attorneys in both cases argued that the National Guard soldiers were necessary to safeguard federal officers and property from demonstrators. However, the Democratic governors of Illinois and Oregon have accused Trump of misrepresenting peaceful protests as violent to justify these deployments.
Judge Perry, in her ruling, questioned the validity of the government’s claims regarding violence during protests at the immigration facility in Broadview, Illinois. She referenced a separate ruling issued by another Chicago judge the same day, which restricted federal agents’ use of force to disperse crowds. The judge attributed the protests to the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and cautioned against deploying Guard soldiers, asserting that it would only escalate the situation further.
The order issued by Judge Perry will remain in effect until at least October 23, with the White House expressing intentions to appeal the decision. In response, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker emphasized that Trump’s administration is not above the law and highlighted the lack of credible evidence supporting the need for National Guard presence in American cities like Chicago.
Amidst these legal battles, Trump reiterated his plans to expand the deployment of troops to combat perceived violence in U.S. cities, citing the presence of troops in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Memphis, Tennessee. The president’s actions have faced legal challenges, with a Los Angeles court previously ruling his deployment of Guard troops there as illegal, a decision currently under appeal.
