The court has ruled that President Donald Trump can still federalize the National Guard.
Protests in Chicago as federal judge reviews Trump’s military deployment
Hundreds of people protested in Chicago as a federal judge considered halting President Trump’s deployment of troops.
A federal appeals court said on October 11 that the Trump administration cannot send the National Guard to Illinois.
But a brief ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said President Donald Trump could still federalize the National Guard. The ruling states that troops already deployed do not need to return home for the time being.
The appellate court ruling largely upholds an Oct. 9 temporary restraining order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that blocked the administration from sending troops into the state. Judge April Perry wrote in her opinion that deploying the National Guard was “likely to cause civil unrest.”
The Chicago area has become the epicenter of the administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown known as Operation Midway Blitz. In response, protests erupted, particularly in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Broadview suburb.
The administration had deployed National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas in response to what it called violent clashes between protesters and operatives in the Midwestern state and the nation’s third-largest city, Chicago. Local and state officials said the federal government was exaggerating the facts on the ground.
The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued the Trump administration to oppose sending troops to Democratic-led cities and states. Lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice appealed Perry’s ruling on October 10.
Spokespeople for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to an emailed request.
President Trump also sent the National Guard to other deep blue cities, against the wishes of local officials. In Memphis, the Tennessee National Guard began patrolling the city on October 10, city officials announced. Republican state officials welcomed the administration’s action.
Federal troops are also being dispatched by Republican administrations to Portland, Oregon, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. Judges in California and Oregon ruled the deployment illegal and unjustified.
Contributors: Christopher Cann and Michael Loria
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
