New York [US], October 10: U.S. District Judge April Perry, in Chicago Illinois), ruled that allowing the National Guard to appear in Illinois would "add fuel to the fire", amid Chicago residents protesting the government's decision to mobilize, Reuters reported on October 10.
Ms. Perry said that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)'s immigration crackdown had sparked protests and that using the guards would complicate the situation.
Earlier this week, a district court judge in Oregon ruled against Trump sending the National Guard to Portland, Oregon. However, a panel of judges at the federal appeals court in California is reviewing and could overturn the ban in Oregon.
The final outcome of the two lawsuits in Illinois and Oregon will have a significant impact on the Trump administration's plan to deploy the National Guard to cities where Mr. Trump believes crime rates are rising and unrest is occurring.
In court, government lawyers argued that the deployment of the National Guard was necessary to protect federal officers and property from protesters, while the governors of Oregon and Illinois argued that the federal government was deliberately exaggerating small protests to justify the deployment.
On October 9, Mr. Trump indicated that he would continue to deploy the National Guard to cities. "We are directly facing the threat of terrorism and domestic violence," Mr. Trump said at a cabinet meeting.
In addition to mobilizing the National Guard, the US government has also increased the deployment of agents from federal agencies to many cities to arrest illegal immigrants. In a related development, The Guardian reported on October 10 that the US government has transferred the duties of many Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents to support immigration raids.
Accordingly, 45% of FBI agents in the 25 largest field offices in the US have been assigned to prioritize assisting the Department of Homeland Security in arresting immigrants. Democratic Senator Mark Warner raised concerns that the move would reduce FBI staff, which is prioritizing counterintelligence, anti-smuggling, anti-terrorism and attack work.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
