Dive Brief:
- A federal judge Thursday issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from “ordering the federalization and deployment of the National Guard within Illinois” for two weeks.
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U.S. District Court Judge April Perry issued the order after hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed Monday by Chicago and the state of Illinois asking the court to block federalized Texas and Illinois National Guard troops from being deployed in the city.
- Perry will hold a telephone hearing Oct. 22 to determine whether the temporary restraining order should be extended for another two weeks.
Dive Insight:
In early September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz, saying it was targeting “the criminal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they know Governor [JB] Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.”
Protests have been ongoing outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, west of Chicago. Federal agents have fired rubber pellets, tear gas and other chemicals at protesters, and several arrests have been made.
On Monday, President Donald Trump issued a memo to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi calling “at least 300” Illinois National Guard members into service to protect federal agents “who are executing Federal law in Illinois, and Federal property in the State of Illinois.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday sent National Guard members from his state to Illinois.
Perry said during her ruling that the Trump administration’s portrayal of the situation in Chicago as a rebellion was “simply unreliable.”
“I have found no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois,” she said. Further, she said, “The National Guard are not trained in de-escalation or other extremely important law enforcement functions that would help to quell these problems.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement that the city would “continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to end the Trump administration’s war on Chicago.”
Chicago Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement that he “will continue to fight back against this unlawful attack on our state’s sovereignty.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement Thursday night that “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”
