The administration of President Donald Trump requested immediate authorization from the United States Supreme Court on Friday to deploy National Guard troops in Illinois, arguing that they are necessary to protect federal agents conducting immigration operations.
This petition arises after a series of unfavorable rulings by lower courts, including a recent decision by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in the Democratic city of Chicago, which once again blocked the federal government's attempt.
In the request submitted to the highest court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the government, asserted that federal agents have been threatened and assaulted in Chicago and in Broadview, a suburb where an immigration facility is located.
Sauer used an urgent tone that resembles references Trump has used in the past, stating that federal agencies have had to operate "under constant threat of mob violence."
The Trump administration's petition is based on a federal law that allows the president to deploy troops when facing difficulties enforcing the law, or if there is a "rebellion or danger of rebellion." According to Sauer, both conditions are present in Illinois. However, both district and appellate courts have rejected that assertion.
District Judge April Perry declared that "she found no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois." Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals considered that the facts do not justify the presidential actions in that state. However, Chicago is classified as one of the most dangerous cities in the country, where hundreds of violent crimes are reported daily.
