The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to allow President Trump to deploy National Guard troops to the Chicago area, leaving in place a lower court order blocking the move while litigation continues.
In an unsigned order, the justices said the administration failed at this stage to show it had legal authority to use the military to enforce laws in Illinois, noting that federal control of the National Guard likely applies only in exceptional circumstances. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
The Trump administration argued the troops were needed to protect federal property and personnel at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility that has drawn protests tied to the president’s immigration enforcement policies.
Illinois and Chicago sued after the administration federalized roughly 300 Illinois National Guard troops and ordered Texas Guard units into the state, calling the actions unlawful. U.S. District Judge April Perry temporarily blocked the deployment, a ruling later upheld by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the facts did not justify the president’s actions.
Perry ruled that the law cited by the administration allows use of the military only when regular armed forces cannot execute federal law, and that the administration did not attempt to rely on those forces before federalizing the Guard. The Justice Department sought Supreme Court intervention, arguing federal agents faced threats of violence, but the court declined to step in.
