Legal analyst weighs in on lawsuit challenging National Guard deployment in Illinois
A judge is set to rule on a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago seeking to prevent the National Guard from being deployed by the federal government over their objections.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul argues in the suit, filed Monday, that "Defendants' deployment of federalized troops to Illinois is patently unlawful." He continues, "Plaintiffs ask this court to halt the illegal, dangerous, and unconstitutional federalization of members of the National Guard of the United States, including both the Illinois and Texas National Guard."
The judge initially declined to grant an emergency temporary restraining order in the hours after the lawsuit was filed, instead giving the federal government until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. CT to file their response.
They did so with moments to spare, in a 59-page filing that argues President Trump has the legal authority to deploy the troops and that state objections should not block the operation.
Attorneys for the federal government also argued the courts should be "highly deferential" when reviewing a president's judgment, saying it's within the scope of the authority the executive branch is given by the Constitution and statutes.
Mr. Trump has claimed that Chicago is "out of control" as justification for sending in the National Guard, and his administration and the Department of Homeland Security have claimed that federal agents and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities need protection from protesters.
Raoul said in a Monday news conference following the filing of the lawsuit that the only situation in the city or state that is "out of control" are the ICE agents themselves, whose overreach he said creates pretext for military deployment, and cited Mr. Trump's own statements that he wants to use American cities as military training grounds and said Chicago "is about to find out why it's called the Department of War."
The hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Please note: The above video is from a previous report.
Charlie De Mar contributed to this report.
Sara Tenenbaum is the Senior Digital Producer for CBS News Chicago covering breaking, local and community news in Chicago. She previously worked as a digital producer and senior digital producer for ABC7 Chicago.
