Judge Blocks National Guard Deployment to Chicago

Local leaders have strongly opposed President Trump’s use of the guard, suggesting in their lawsuit that the deployment efforts reflect an unlawful attempt to infringe on the state’s sovereignty.

They argued in their motion to block the National Guard’s federalization and deployment of the troops that Trump is using “small-scale” protests at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in a nearby suburb as a pretext to send in the troops.

Trump’s years-long fixation on Chicago is proof, the officials said.

Trump last week called Chicago a “big city with an incompetent governor” and has previously criticized the city as the “worst and most dangerous” in the world.

The officials date Trump’s “animus” toward Illinois and Chicago back to the day before he was first elected president, on Nov. 7, 2016, when he posted on social media about the city: “The crime is unbelievable. You can’t walk to the store and get a loaf of bread. Often, you get shot.”

The agency claimed it was subject to a “coordinated assault by violent groups” that are “actively aligned with designated domestic terror organizations,” according to the lawsuit.

An ICE facility in Broadview, Ill., a western suburb of Chicago, has become the focus of protests in the area. Rubber bullets, pepper balls and tear gas have been fired at demonstrators, while employees of the facility have sought escorts into the building and had their tires slashed, according to court papers.

The ruling comes as Trump’s rhetorical battle with local leaders is escalating.

A federal appeals court on Thursday also heard oral arguments over Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Oregon. A three-judge panel Wednesday lifted a lower court’s order blocking the president from calling Oregon National Guard members into federal service, but he still may not deploy troops anywhere in the state, for now.