A federal appeals court has ruled the Trump administration can continue to keep National Guard troops in Illinois under federal control but cannot deploy them in Chicago while the appeals process plays out.
On Oct. 11 the appeals court determined the lower court could not prevent the Trump administration from calling up National Guard troops for federal service but declined to stay the lower court’s order barring those troops from deploying throughout the state of Illinois.
Around 500 troops from the Illinois and Texas National Guard had been called up to deploy in Chicago. Most of those troops have remained at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood but a small contingent was sent to a Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Broadview.
“Members of the National Guard do not need to return to their home states unless further ordered by a court to do so,” the appeals court decision reads.
Chicago and Portland are among several major U.S. cities where the Trump administration has sought to deploy military resources to assist federal immigration enforcement operations and protect federal property.
In June, Trump deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles.
By August, the president had asserted temporary federal control over the local police department in Washington, D.C. and dispatched National Guard troops to the nation’s capital to assist local law enforcement efforts.
National Guard troops have also begun to patrol the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, as part of a federal law and order initiative.
Trump has been building anticipation for a troop mobilization to Chicago for weeks.
Epoch Times reporters Joseph Lord, Nathan Worcester, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
