The Supreme Court just shut down a push to send National Guard troops into Chicago. In a brief, unsigned order, the justices refused to lift a lower court's block on the deployment. That earlier ruling from a federal judge in Illinois, April Perry, found no credible threat of rebellion in the state that would justify such a move.
The administration had argued that federal immigration officers faced obstruction and violence in Chicago, including at a facility in Broadview. They claimed this created a need for military support. The Supreme Court's response was blunt, stating the government failed at this preliminary stage to show any legal authority allowing the military to act as law enforcement in Illinois. The order specifically noted the President did not invoke any statute that would bypass the Posse Comitatus Act, the law limiting the use of the military for domestic policing.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker welcomed the decision, calling it a check on authoritarian overreach. The legal fight started when the administration appealed the initial temporary restraining order. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had already upheld the block on using the Guard within state borders before the matter reached the highest court. This deployment was a contentious part of the broader immigration enforcement strategy.
The administration had argued that federal immigration officers faced obstruction and violence in Chicago, including at a facility in Broadview. They claimed this created a need for military support. The Supreme Court's response was blunt, stating the government failed at this preliminary stage to show any legal authority allowing the military to act as law enforcement in Illinois. The order specifically noted the President did not invoke any statute that would bypass the Posse Comitatus Act, the law limiting the use of the military for domestic policing.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker welcomed the decision, calling it a check on authoritarian overreach. The legal fight started when the administration appealed the initial temporary restraining order. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had already upheld the block on using the Guard within state borders before the matter reached the highest court. This deployment was a contentious part of the broader immigration enforcement strategy.
