US Supreme Court blocks Trump’s National Guard deployment in Chicago

The US Supreme Court deals a blow to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown by blocking his deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago.

The conservative-dominated court kept in place for now a lower court order barring the deployment of troops on the streets of the city in the midwestern state of Illinois.

“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 court says in an unsigned order.

Three conservative justices — Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — dissented.

The Republican president has sent National Guard troops to three Democratic-led cities this year — Los Angeles, Washington and Memphis — but his efforts to deploy soldiers in Portland and Chicago have been tied up in the courts.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, reacting to the court ruling, says the president “activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers, and to ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property.”

“Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda,” Jackson said.

It is not immediately clear how Tuesday’s decision would affect the other cases where Democratic-ruled states have challenged Trump’s National Guard deployment.

Some 300 National Guard troops remain activated in the Chicago area but are not engaged in operations.