Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to authorize the deployment of National Guard troops to the Chicago area, as the Republican president plans to send military personnel to a growing number of Democratic-led communities and expand the use of the armed forces for domestic purposes.
The Justice Department has asked the court to block a judge’s ruling that halted the deployment of hundreds of troops over the objection of Illinois state and local leaders, while litigation challenging Trump’s plan continues.
Given events on the ground, the judge questioned the administration’s reasons for sending in the military. A federal appeals court upheld the judge’s ruling on Thursday, also casting doubt on the administration’s justification.
The administration said the danger to federal property and personnel posed by protests against Trump’s tough immigration policies justified the president’s deployment of troops. In a written filing, the Justice Department called local authorities’ assessment of the protests “implausibly rosy” and called for immediate action.
Federal law enforcement “was forced to operate under constant threat of mob violence,” the ministry said. “Local forces have failed to respond, or inexplicably delayed their response, even when federal agents are confronted with life-threatening violence.”
The Supreme Court asked officials in Illinois and Chicago to respond to the Justice Department’s request by Monday afternoon.
“Donald Trump will continue to try to invade Illinois with troops – and we will continue to defend our state’s sovereignty,” Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wrote on social media. “Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American, but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy. What will happen next?
Trump ordered National Guard troops to Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, and Portland, Oregon, after his previous deployments to Los Angeles, Memphis and Washington, DC. Trump has sought to use military forces to quell protests and support immigration enforcement in the country.
Trump and his allies have described these cities as lawless, crime-ridden and plagued by large, violent protests requiring military intervention. Democratic mayors and governors, as well as other Trump critics, said the claims were a mischaracterization of the situation and a pretext to send troops to punish opponents, accusing Trump of abusing his power.
Federal judges have expressed skepticism about the administration’s view of events on the ground. Protests against the administration’s aggressive immigration efforts have been largely peaceful and limited in size, local officials say, a far cry from the “war zone” conditions described by Trump.
Test the limits
Although Trump has suggested that troops can be used to fight crime, the National Guard and other military personnel, under U.S. law, are generally not allowed to engage in civilian law enforcement. While a U.S. president can deploy the National Guard under certain authorities, Trump is testing the limits of those powers by sending troops into cities controlled by his political opponents.
The legal dispute centers on Trump’s invocation of a federal law that allows a president to federalize National Guard troops only in the event of rebellion or if he is “unable, together with the regular forces, to execute the laws of the United States.”
The administration this month federalized 300 Illinois National Guard troops and also ordered more Texas National Guard troops into the state.
Faced with criticism and reluctance from local leaders, Trump intensified his threats, calling on October 8 for the imprisonment of the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois, both Democrats, accusing them of failing to protect immigration agents.
Illinois and Chicago sued the administration over the deployment. On October 9, Chicago-based U.S. District Judge April Perry, appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, temporarily blocked the move.
Perry said the administration’s allegations of violence during protests at an immigration center in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Broadview, where a small group of demonstrators had gathered daily for weeks, were unreliable.
In a written opinion, Perry criticized administration officials for “equating the protests with rioting and a lack of appreciation of the broad spectrum that exists between citizens who observe, question, and criticize their government, and those who obstruct, assault, or engage in violence.”
There is no evidence of a risk of rebellion in Illinois or that the law is not being enforced, the judge said, adding that a National Guard deployment “would only add fuel to the fire.”
A three-judge panel of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift Perry’s order blocking the deployment, concluding that “the facts do not justify the president’s actions in Illinois.” Two of the three judges were appointed by Republican presidents, including one by Trump.
