• Illinois and Chicago officials have filed a lawsuit to prevent Trump's National Guard deployment.
• Over 200 Texas National Guard troops have arrived in Illinois for a planned deployment.
• Democratic leaders claim Trump's actions are politically motivated and unconstitutional.
• A federal judge allowed the deployment to proceed, despite ongoing legal challenges.
• The deployment is part of Trump's broader crackdown on immigration enforcement across major cities.

The state of Illinois, along with its largest city, Chicago, has legal proceedings underway to block President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. This move comes after the President announced his intention to federalize National Guard personnel amidst claims of "violent riots and lawlessness," which state officials argue are exaggerated, undermining local governance, according to aa and scmp.

The legal challenge follows the arrival of over 200 Texas National Guard members at an Army training center in Elwood, Illinois, despite strong opposition from local Democratic leaders. Governor J.B. Pritzker has accused the Trump administration of using military force as "political props" and called the deployment an invasion of state sovereignty. He emphasized that military troops should not be employed against American communities, reports huffpost and abcnews.

Trump has authorized these troop movements as part of a larger crackdown on immigration, claiming Chicago is akin to a "war zone." However, statistical data shows that crime, including homicides, has been declining in recent months, challenging the President’s narrative. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul stated that the legal justifications for deploying the National Guard, such as foreign invasion or rebellion, do not apply, according to npr and aljazeera.

Despite the ongoing legal tussle, U.S. District Judge April Perry has not issued an immediate halt to the deployment while allowing a full court hearing to take place. Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department indicated that the Guardsmen were already in transit at the time of the lawsuit. The legal argument centers on the assertion that the use of military enforcement against civilian communities is unconstitutional, as echoed by various officials and legal experts, as reported by channelnewsasia and latimes.

Responding to heightened tensions, various mayors and governors have raised the alarm over the implications of militarizing local law enforcement, with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson asserting that such deployments are both illegal and dangerous. He highlighted that the focus should be on community relations rather than military enforcement, further stressing the need for local governance to address community concerns effectively, according to bbc and lemonde.