IL, Chicago Ask Supreme Court To Keep Blocking National Guard Deployment

CHICAGO — Lawyers representing Illinois and Chicago are asking the Supreme Court to maintain an order prohibiting the Illinois National Guard from deploying into Chicago under President Donald Trump, according to reports.

In the filing on Monday, state and city attorneys argued that “unnecessary deployment of military troops, untrained for local policing, will escalate tensions and undermine the ordinary law enforcement activities of state and local entities,” The New York Times reported.

Trump requested last week clearance to deploy hundreds of guard troops to a Chicago-area immigration processing center, but a district judge and a federal appeals court both rejected the arguments that protesters are significantly hindering federal officers’ ability to carry out laws or that they constitute a rebellion, according to the Times.

The brief argued Monday that “state and local law enforcement officers have handled isolated protest activities in Illinois, and there is no credible evidence to the contrary,” ABC News reported.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, when a district judge is expected to decide if the block on the deployment should be extended, according to the Times. ABC News noted the order is set to expire later this week.