National Guard Deployment Begins in Chicago as Courts Take Up Legal Challenges
A pair of court hearings are being held Thursday on the legality of the Trump Administration’s use of National Guard troops in Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon, to assist with law enforcement efforts.
This as National Guard troops from Texas started deploying into the Chicago area on Wednesday.
According to U.S. Northern Command, 200 soldiers from the Texas National Guard and 300 from various units of the Illinois National Guard were activated and have arrived in the greater Chicago area.
“These forces will protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property,” stated Northern Command.
The Trump Administration insists the deployments are necessary. The president himself says that state and local leaders like Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) have failed to protect officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and should be “jailed” for failing to do so.
But Governor Pritzker fired back.
“Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power,” wrote Governor Pritzker on X. “What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?”
Hundreds of protesters clashed with federal law enforcement over the weekend in Chicago. One woman was shot during an incident that officials characterized as a civilian “ambush” of federal authorities.
Portland National Guard Deployment
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court will hear additional arguments on whether National Guard troops from Oregon and California can be deployed on the streets of Portland.
On Wednesday an appeals court lifted a judge’s order blocking President Trump from calling Oregon National Guard troops into federal service, but the order prevented deployment. The next arguments will determine if deployment can go forward.
The president has also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows the deployment of troops in the United States in certain limited situations, if courts block the deployments and violence escalates. Democrats say crime rates show violence is in decline.