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Trump sent 300 Illinois National Guard troops to Chicago to protect federal property, prompting a lawsuit from state and city officials over its legality.
US President Donald Trump (Image Credit: Reuters)
US President Donald Trump has formally authorised the deployment of 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to Chicago for 60 days, according to a presidential memorandum released Monday.
According to the memo, the deployment of 300 members of the Illinois National Guard aims to protect the federal personnel and property in Illinois.
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“Federal facilities in Illinois, including those directly supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Protective Services (FPS), have come under coordinated assault by violent groups intent on obstructing Federal law enforcement activities. These groups have sought to impede the deportation and removal of criminal aliens through violent demonstrations, intimidation, and sabotage of Federal operations,” it stated.
In the memo, Trump said that the regular forces of the US are not sufficient to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including in Chicago.
“I hereby call into Federal service at least 300 members of the Illinois National Guard, until the Governor of Illinois consents to a federally-funded mobilization,” the order says in part.
According to the order, the National Guard will be activated for 60 days, unless extended or withdrawn earlier at the discretion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“To carry out this mission, the deployed National Guard personnel may perform those protective activities that the Secretary of War determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the execution of Federal law in Illinois, and to protect Federal property in Illinois,” the memo stated.
This is despite Illinois and Chicago filing a lawsuit aiming to stop the Donald Trump administration from sending hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Illinois, the state Attorney General Kwame Raoul and counsel for Chicago accused Trump of using US troops “to punish his political enemies.”
“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 favour,” said the lawsuit.
“Illinois is taking the Trump Administration to court for their unlawful and unconstitutional deployment of military troops to our state,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has slammed Trump’s deployment plans in Democrat-run cities and called it an abuse of power.
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
October 07, 2025, 04:47 IST
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