A federal judge in Chicago has decided to temporarily halt President Donald Trump from sending hundreds of National Guard soldiers to Illinois. This ruling comes shortly after a judge in Oregon blocked a similar deployment in Portland. U.S. District Judge April Perry made the decision following extensive arguments from the U.S. government and the state of Illinois, which had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment.
Earlier on Thursday, National Guard soldiers were observed patrolling a suburban Chicago immigration facility that has been a focal point for recent protests. Meanwhile, a three-judge panel at a federal appeals court in San Francisco indicated a likelihood of overturning the ruling that blocked Trump’s deployment in Portland, potentially allowing hundreds of soldiers to enter the city.
The outcomes of these legal proceedings could have significant implications for Trump’s efforts to deploy military personnel in U.S. cities against the objections of Democratic leaders. Government lawyers have argued that the National Guard soldiers are necessary to safeguard federal officers and property from demonstrators. However, Illinois and Oregon governors have accused Trump of distorting peaceful protests as violent to justify these deployments.
In her ruling, Judge Perry expressed skepticism about the government’s claims of violence during protests at the Broadview, Illinois immigration facility. She referenced another judge’s ruling in Chicago that temporarily restricted federal agents from using force to disperse crowds, citing allegations of injuries to protesters and journalists by federal agents at the same facility. Perry criticized the actions of ICE officers, stating that deploying Guard soldiers to Broadview would only escalate the situation further.