Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Raoul’s Office Seeks Temporary Restraining Order to Prevent Unlawful Deployment

Chicago – On behalf of the state of Illinois, Attorney General Kwame Raoul today filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Department of Defense, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security, and Secretary of the U.S. Army Daniel P. Driscoll and the U.S. Army challenging the administration’s unlawful deployment of  National Guard members in Illinois to perform federal law enforcement functions.

Attorney General Raoul filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois – Eastern Division. In the lawsuit, Raoul alleges the Trump administration has exceeded its authority under 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which permits federalization of a state’s National Guard under the following specific, limited circumstances: invasion, rebellion or if the federal government is unable to enforce federal laws. As Attorney General Raoul points out, none of these legal requirements exist to justify the federalization and deployment of the National Guard exist in Illinois.

“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly for the reason that their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor,” Raoul said. “I am absolutely committed to upholding the Constitution and defending the rule of law, which is why my office is both challenging and seeking an order to stop unlawful National Guard deployment in Illinois.”

Attorney General Raoul’s lawsuit argues that the administration has provided no lawful explanation for its deployment of federal troops, and none exists. The federal government is able to enforce federal law in Illinois, and federal courts continue to be open. The administration’s order also violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits members of the military from engaging in civilian law enforcement activities. Furthermore, the deployment of federal troops in Illinois violates the 10th Amendment, which preserves states’ sovereignty to exercise police powers and enforce their own laws. 

In seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the unlawful deployment of the Illinois National Guard, the Texas National Guard or any National Guard troops, Raoul points out that a federalized National Guard will only cause additional unrest and increase the mistrust of police. A deployment will also harm the state’s economy by depressing business activities and tourism, which hurts Illinoisians and Illinois’ tax revenue more broadly.

The state of Illinois is joined in the complaint by the city of Chicago.

“As Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, I stand with the Attorney General in challenging the Trump Administration’s illegal deployment of the National Guard. This is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law,” said Mary B. Richardson-Lowry, Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago.  

Attorney General Raoul’s complaint comes just hours after an Oregon court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to federalize the state’s National Guard. The judge’s order emphasized that “this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.” The judge also stated that, “The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts.”