CHICAGO: President Donald Trump threatened to invoke emergency powers under the Insurrection Act to deploy more troops into Democratic-led US cities.
The Republican leader openly considered using the Insurrection Act after conflicting federal court rulings on National Guard deployments in Portland and Chicago.
Both cities have experienced increased federal agent presence as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement operations, sparking protests outside processing facilities.
“We have an Insurrection Act for a reason,“ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“If people were being killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure I would do that.”
Illinois officials had filed a lawsuit seeking to block the troop deployment in Chicago, but Judge April Perry declined to issue an immediate temporary restraining order.
She scheduled a full hearing for Thursday and requested additional information from the government.
The debate intensified when Republican-led Texas planned to send 200 federalized National Guard troops to Illinois, angering Democratic Governor JB Pritzker.
“They should stay the hell out of Illinois,“ said Pritzker.
He accused federal immigration agents in Chicago of using excessive force and illegally detaining US citizens during raids.
Trump’s comments about the Insurrection Act came minutes after Pritzker warned of a pre-meditated escalation of violence.
“The Trump administration is following a playbook: cause chaos, create fear and confusion,“ Pritzker told a press conference.
“Why? To create the pretext for invoking the Insurrection Act so that he can send the military to our city.”
Trump authorized deployment of 700 National Guard members to Chicago over the weekend despite opposition from local Democratic leaders.
In their lawsuit, state Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Chicago counsel accused Trump of using troops to punish political enemies.
“The American people should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military,“ they stated.
Raoul described planned deployments to Illinois as unlawful and unconstitutional during the press conference with Pritzker.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended sending troops to Chicago by calling the city a war zone.
Trump similarly described Portland as war-ravaged, but a federal judge temporarily blocked the Oregon troop deployment.
District Judge Karin Immergut stated the president’s determination was untethered to the facts in her ruling.
“This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law,“ wrote Immergut, who was appointed by Trump.
The White House confirmed the Trump administration is appealing the Oregon court ruling.
A recent CBS poll found that 58% of Americans oppose deploying the National Guard to US cities.
Illinois and Oregon join California in filing legal challenges against Trump administration National Guard deployments.
California filed suit earlier this year after Trump sent troops to Los Angeles during protests over immigration crackdowns. – AFP