Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit Monday aiming to stop US President Donald Trump’s administration from sending hundreds of National Guard troops to the city, Reuters reported.
The lawsuit was filed just as troops prepared to deploy and hours after a federal judge blocked troops from being sent to Portland, Oregon. It set off a fresh legal battle over the president’s authority to use soldiers to respond to protests over his immigration crackdown.
The suit escalates a growing clash between Democratic-led states and President Donald Trump over the use of National Guard troops in cities he describes as crime-ridden.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago, accuses Trump of attempting to use National Guard troops “to punish his political enemies.” The deployment infringes on the state’s sovereignty and right to self-governance, according to the filing, according to Bloomberg.
“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favour,” the two parties argued in the lawsuit.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
