CHICAGO: A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday temporarily blocked former US President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois, marking another legal setback for his attempts to send military forces into Democratic-led cities.
US District Judge April Perry ruled that deploying Guard soldiers would “add fuel to the fire,” rejecting government claims that troops were needed to control alleged unrest near a federal immigration facility in Broadview, Illinois.
The decision comes just five days after another judge halted Trump’s Portland, Oregon deployment, though a federal appeals court in San Francisco signaled it may reverse that ruling, potentially reopening the door for federal troops to reenter the city.
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Illinois and Oregon both sued the Trump administration, accusing it of overstepping constitutional limits and mischaracterizing peaceful protests as violent uprisings to justify troop deployments.
Delivering her decision from the bench, Judge Perry said she found little credible evidence of widespread violence. She referenced another Chicago ruling issued the same day, which limited federal agents’ use of force against protesters after reports of injuries at the Broadview ICE center. “Deploying Guard soldiers would only add fuel to the fire that defendants themselves have started,” Judge Perry stated. Her order will remain in effect until October 23.
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White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the Trump administration would appeal the ruling, asserting that “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to lawlessness.”
In response, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker celebrated the decision, writing on social media: “Donald Trump is not a king — and his administration is not above the law. There is no credible evidence of a rebellion in Illinois and no place for the National Guard in our streets.”
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At the same time, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard arguments over the Portland case, with Oregon’s attorney general describing Trump’s portrayal of protests as “untethered from reality.”
Judges debated whether courts should continuously reassess the need for troops or defer to presidential authority during unrest.
Trump, meanwhile, reiterated his commitment to expand troop deployments, saying, “We’re in Memphis. We’re going to Chicago. We’re going to other cities,” as he accused “left-wing domestic terrorists” of fueling nationwide violence.
The National Guard, typically controlled by state governors and barred from civilian law enforcement, can be deployed federally only under specific circumstances — limits that Trump’s actions continue to test.