Appeals court temporarily blocks deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago

A federal appeals court Saturday blocked the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago area amid ongoing protests at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities that the Trump administration has vowed to crack down on. The court ruled, however, that the National Guard troops can remain under federal control.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling from U.S. District Judge April Perry earlier this week denying a request from the White House to deploy National Guard troops on the streets of Chicago in response to a lawsuit brought by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. 

However, it granted a request from the Trump administration to temporarily keep those National Guard troops under federal control, issuing an administrative stay to Perry’s earlier ruling on the federalization issue.

CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment on the ruling.

The Defense Department announced earlier this week that approximately 200 National Guard soldiers from Texas and another 300 from Illinois were federalized under Title 10 and sent to the Chicago area for a period of at least 60 days to “protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property.”

The ICE processing facility in the Broadview suburb of Chicago has been the site of ongoing confrontations between protesters and law enforcement.

This comes amid a similar legal standoff in Portland, Oregon.

A Trump-appointed federal judge issued a temporary restraining order last weekend blocking the federalization and deployment of Oregon National Guard troops in Portland. A day later, the same judge blocked the deployment of any National Guard troops to Oregon from other states as the Pentagon said that it planned to send another 200 California National Guard troops to Portland.   

On Wednesday, an appeals court temporarily granted a White House request that the 200 Oregon National Guard troops remain under federal control. However, the appellate court noted that National Guard troops are still prohibited from deploying to Portland while the case plays out.