Justice department submits emergency filing as Trump pushes to expand use of military in Democratic-led cities
The Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to permit the deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois, as the president pushes to expand the domestic use of the military in a growing number of Democratic-led cities.
In an emergency filing, the justice department urged the court to overturn a lower court ruling that halted the deployment of several hundred National Guard troops to the Chicago area. The district judge had raised doubts about the administration’s justification for sending troops, questioning its explanation in light of local conditions.
A federal appeals court upheld the lower court’s decision on Thursday, keeping the deployment on hold while the legal challenge proceeds.
D John Sauer, the solicitor general representing the administration, wrote in the new filing that federal agents have repeatedly been “threatened and assaulted” in Chicago and the suburb of Broadview, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention facility is located.
