Supreme Court Keeps Trump’s National Guard Deployment Blocked in the Chicago Area, For Now
- Published In: Politics
- Last Updated: Dec 24, 2025
With the Supreme Court Building under renovations, the justices hear oral arguments on President Donald Trump’s push to expand control over independent federal agencies, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
BY MARK SHERMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area to support its immigration crackdown, a significant defeat for the president’s efforts to send troops to U.S. cities.
The justices declined the Republican administration’s emergency request to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge April Perry that had blocked the deployment of troops. An appeals court also had refused to step in. The Supreme Court took more than two months to act.
Three justices — Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — publicly dissented.
The high court order is not a final ruling but it could affect other lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s attempts to deploy the military in other Democratic-led cities.
“At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the high court majority wrote.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he agreed with the decision to keep the Chicago deployment blocked, but would have left the president more latitude to deploy troops in possible future scenarios.
