CHICAGO (BN24) — Illinois filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration to block the deployment of federalized National Guard troops to Chicago, accusing the White House of violating the state’s sovereignty and constitutional protections.
The lawsuit, brought by Illinois Attorney General’s office on behalf of the state and the city of Chicago, charges that President Donald Trump’s deployment order represents an “unconstitutional and unlawful” intrusion into state authority. It names Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll as defendants.
“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor,” the filing states. It argues that the Trump administration’s actions have already caused “serious and irreparable harm” to Illinois.
The White House defended Trump’s decision, claiming the deployment is necessary to restore order in the face of “violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have allegedly failed to address. “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.
The legal action follows a separate federal court ruling in Oregon over the weekend that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending federalized National Guard troops from California to Portland. That ruling by U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, cited the nation’s tradition of resisting military intrusion in civil affairs.
Illinois officials made similar arguments, contending that deploying National Guard units from other states to police Chicago violates the Tenth Amendment and undermines local governance. “The deployment of federalized National Guard, including from another state, infringes on Illinois’s sovereignty and right to self-governance,” the suit says. It warns the action will cause social unrest, harm community relations, depress business activity, and cut into state tax revenues.
The lawsuit also references Trump’s longstanding threats to send troops into Chicago. It notes that Trump first called for troop deployment more than a decade ago, pointing to a 2013 tweet in which he wrote, “we need our troops on the streets of Chicago, not in Syria.”
According to the suit, the administration has already surged heavily armed federal agents trained in SWAT tactics into Illinois for immigration enforcement and protest crackdowns, including the use of chemical munitions outside an immigration detention facility in Broadview. Dozens of masked federal agents have also patrolled downtown Chicago in recent weeks, alarming local residents.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker accused federal authorities of escalating tensions. “Federal authorities are the ones that are making it a war zone,” Pritzker said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to deploy the National Guard to Democratic-led cities including New York, Baltimore and New Orleans, despite falling crime rates in many of those areas. Chicago Police Department statistics show the murder rate is down 29 percent this year compared to the same period last year, and overall crime is down 13 percent.
The lawsuit seeks a court declaration blocking the federalization and deployment of any state National Guard or U.S. military troops within Illinois. It follows earlier legal challenges in California and Washington, D.C., where judges and attorneys general have pushed back against Trump’s deployment of troops to cities against their will.
