Appeals court bars Trump from deploying National Guard in Illinois
A federal appeals court said Saturday that it will not allow President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard in Illinois, largely preserving a ruling that had suspended his administration’s campaign to send troops into the Chicago area.
The Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, however, said that the president could federalize the Guard for now, as the appeals court said it will later decide on that question. It is unclear what the Guard will be doing without the ability to deploy.
“Members of the National Guard do not need to return to their home states unless further ordered by a court to do so,” the order said.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge April M. Perry blocked Trump’s effort to deploy troops in and around Chicago, concluding that it was “likely to lead to civil unrest.”
Illinois officials had challenged the deployment, saying the Trump administration was illegally seizing control of the state’s own National Guard. Sending Texas National Guard troops into the Chicago area was also a “grave intrusion on Illinois’ sovereignty,” Illinois officials wrote in court papers.
Perry, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, blocked the troop deployment in a ruling from the bench on Thursday. She described a “lack of credibility” in declarations submitted by federal officials in the case. In a written order issued the following day, Perry said she had also noticed “a troubling trend” of the declarations “equating protest with riots.”
The Defense Department declined to comment on the appeals court order. The White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and Illinois and Chicago officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In early September, the Trump administration launched an immigration enforcement mission in Chicago dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.” This spurred continual protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, a Chicago suburb.
Federal agents have repeatedly launched tear gas and other projectiles toward crowds. The Trump administration has said in court filings that officials have encountered “ongoing and sustained attacks” in Chicago and said the troop deployment was needed to help protect federal personnel and property.
The Trump administration appealed Perry’s decision, writing that she “largely ignored the facts on the ground” and “impermissibly second-guessed the Commander in Chief’s military judgments.” The Justice Department asked the 7th Circuit to pause Perry’s order while it appeals.
Officials representing Illinois and Chicago said Perry’s “order was correct, appropriate, and should not be stayed pending appeal.” They said Perry was correct in concluding that there was not credible evidence showing the troops were necessary to let the Trump administration enforce federal law.
Perry’s ruling came days after U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut in Oregon similarly blocked Trump from deploying troops in Portland, another city where his administration has tried to send the National Guard over local and state officials’ objections.
Immergut, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, wrote in her ruling that his conclusion that troops were needed in Portland “was simply untethered to the facts.”
The Trump administration appealed her ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which has not yet issued a decision.
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• Jaclyn Peiser contributed.