The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to allow the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago and the surrounding areas, handing a defeat to President Donald Trump. At Trump’s direction, troops have been used in several states to assist with his crackdown on illegal immigration.
The White House had filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision that blocked the Chicago deployment. The justices refused to hear the request.
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While the court’s decision is not final, it could still have an effect on other lawsuits challenging Trump’s deployments around the country.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch publicly dissented from the majority decision.
What did lower courts rule?
The Trump administration argued the troops were needed “to protect federal personnel and property from violent resistance.” The Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the western Chicago suburbs of Broadview has seen tense protests over the past few months. Federal agents have deployed tear gas and other nonlethal deterrents on protesters and journalists.
However, U.S. District Judge April Perry ruled that the administration’s reasoning that a “danger of rebellion” was happening in Illinois was unsubstantiated. Perry also said that she didn’t believe the protests in the area had interfered with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Perry initially blocked the deployment for two weeks but extended the order indefinitely as the Supreme Court reviewed the case.
What other legal battles are ongoing?
This case is one of many regarding the president’s deployment of the National Guard.
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwab sued to halt the deployment of the Guard there. According to The Associated Press, 45 states have entered filings in federal court, with 23 supporting the deployment and 22 supporting the lawsuit.
An appeals court recently allowed the deployment in Washington to continue. More than 2,200 National Guard troops are stationed in the capital.
In Oregon, a federal judge permanently blocked the deployment of troops in the city. Federal officials said they were recalling the 200 troops sent from California under Trump’s orders.
In June, Trump deployed at least 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines to Los Angeles following protests against ICE raids in immigrant communities. The administration reassigned about 150 troops to support the state’s wildfire response in July. However, by September, troops had left the city after a series of legal fights.
The Trump administration appealed the California and Oregon rulings to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. National Guard troops deployed to Memphis, Tennessee, in September after Trump ordered the creation of the Memphis Safe Task Force. By October, residents began seeing troops conducting patrols alongside local law enforcement. A Tennessee state court ruled in favor of Democratic officials who sued to end the ongoing Guard deployment in Memphis.
