Updated October 17, 2025 at 8:29 PM CDT
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to deploy National Guard troops in Illinois after lower courts blocked the deployment.
As legal challenges to President Trump's push to send military troops to Democratic-led cities make their way through several courts, the administration's appeal to the high court marks the first time the justices have been asked to weigh in on the issue.
In the appeal filed on Friday by the Department of Justice, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that troops are needed in the Chicago area to "prevent ongoing and intolerable risks to the lives and safety" of federal agents. The appeal comes a day after a federal judge denied Trump's bid to deploy troops in Illinois. Sauer argued that the judge's ruling "improperly impinges on the President's authority and needlessly endangers federal personnel and property."
Trump has been arguing that Chicago is lawless and in need of military intervention to quell protests and protect federal immigration facilities, and federalized the state National Guard against Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's wishes earlier this month. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott also sent several hundred of his state's troops to the Democratic-led state.
The Trump administration is "going to litigate this as much as we can," Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with ABC's This Week on Sunday. "We think that we have the authority to provide proper safety to our citizens all over the United States, but particularly in Chicago."
The Supreme Court has asked Illinois and Chicago officials to respond to the administration's arguments by Monday evening.
President Trump has carried out, or attempted to carry out, similar plans in other cities while claiming that federal intervention is needed to drive down crime rates. Leaders in several of those cities have said military force is unnecessary and have accused the president of exceeding his authority to carry out such deployments.
The president is currently in a legal battle with the state of California, after he deployed about 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE protests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has argued that Trump broke the law by not consulting with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Last month, Trump authorized National Guard troops to go to Memphis to handle what he said were "tremendous levels" of crime in the city. He is also in litigation with the city of Portland, Ore., after attempting to send troops there to safeguard ICE facilities that he said were being attacked. A judge has issued an order blocking the deployment.
In August, Trump deployed National Guard Troops to Washington, D.C., after issuing a crime emergency that lasted about a month. Shortly before the emergency expired, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the city had established the Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center to manage and continue its relationship with federal law enforcement. The office is responsible, in part, for communicating D.C.'s requests to the federal agents, such as that they not wear masks and that they clearly identify themselves during arrests and interactions with the public.
Trump, eyeing future troop deployments, has said Baltimore, New York, New Orleans, St. Louis, Mo., Oakland and San Francisco are next.
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