The Trump administration has turned to the US Supreme Court in a bid to override lower court rulings that blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to the Chicago area. The move marks the latest escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to expand the use of military forces in Democratic-led cities, a strategy his critics say is aimed at punishing political adversaries under the guise of maintaining order.
The Justice Department filed an emergency request on Friday, urging the high court to lift a federal judge’s injunction that halted the deployment of hundreds of troops. That ruling, upheld by a federal appeals court on Thursday, questioned the administration’s justification for sending in the military, particularly its claims that protests against Trump’s immigration enforcement policies posed an imminent threat to federal property and personnel.
In its filing, the Justice Department described local officials’ assessments of the protests as “implausibly rosy,” insisting that federal law enforcement agencies were operating under the “constant threat of mob violence.” The department argued that local police had either failed to respond or delayed their response even when federal agents faced life-threatening situations.
The Supreme Court has asked Illinois and Chicago officials to respond to the administration’s request by Monday afternoon, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle over the president’s authority to deploy troops domestically against the wishes of state leaders.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, sharply criticized the move, accusing Trump of undermining state sovereignty. “Donald Trump will keep trying to invade Illinois with troops and we will keep defending the sovereignty of our state,” Pritzker wrote on social media. “Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy.”
Trump has already ordered National Guard deployments to Los Angeles, Memphis, Washington, D.C., Portland, and now Chicago, framing the cities as lawless and plagued by violent unrest. His allies argue that military intervention is necessary to restore order, while Democratic mayors and governors counter that the claims of chaos are exaggerated and politically motivated.
The dispute underscores a deepening clash between the White House and Democratic-led states over the limits of presidential power. If the Supreme Court sides with the administration, it could set a precedent for broader use of the military in domestic affairs a prospect that has alarmed civil liberties advocates and state officials alike.
For now, the fate of Trump’s Chicago deployment rests with the nation’s highest court, which must weigh the president’s claims of urgent security needs against constitutional questions of federal overreach.
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