The US Supreme Court has preliminarily rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago to support immigration operations. This ruling marks a significant setback for the Republican administration, which sought to use military forces in Democratic-led cities. The justices cited legal restrictions like the Posse Comitatus Act in denying the request.
The US Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday that temporarily blocks the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago, ordered by President Donald Trump in early October. The president had requested hundreds of troops from Illinois and Texas to protect personnel and facilities of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service and the Border Patrol during an operation targeting migrants in the city, which sparked local protests.
The Court denied the Justice Department's emergency request to overturn a prior ruling by a federal district judge. "In this preliminary stage, the Government has not identified a source of authority that allows the armed forces to execute the laws in Illinois," the justices stated. They referenced the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits the use of federal troops for law enforcement duties except in specific cases.
Trump invoked an exception to federalize the National Guard when regular forces cannot enforce federal immigration laws. However, the Supreme Court ruled that its applicability had not been demonstrated, interpreting "regular forces" as referring to the US Army. The decision split the six conservative justices, with three in the majority and three dissenting, joined by the three liberal justices.
Justice Samuel Alito dissented: "I strongly disagree with the manner in which the court has resolved this application. There is no basis for rejecting the president's determination that he was unable to execute the federal immigration laws using the civilian law enforcement resources at his disposal".
This ruling follows similar attempts by Trump in other Democratic-led cities, such as Los Angeles, Portland—where it was permanently blocked in November—, Memphis, and Washington D.C., where two soldiers were attacked in November, resulting in one death. The decision could bolster legal challenges against deployments in other cities, limiting presidential authority in this area.
