A federal appeals court maintains a block on the Trump administration from deploying federalized National Guard troops anywhere within the state of Illinois, but allows the federal government to maintain control of state Guard troops.
The decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals came after it on Saturday granted a partial stay of a lower court ruling that had been appealed by the Trump administration.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deployment of National Guard troops from any U.S. state to Illinois.
Members of the Texas National Guard carry rifles and riot shields at an Army Reserve training center Oct. 7, 2025 in Elwood, Illinois.
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“Pending a decision on the stay request pending appeal, the district court’s order of October 9, 2025 is temporarily SUSPENDED only to the extent that it prohibited the federalization of the United States National Guard within Illinois,” the circuit court ordered. “National Guard members do not need to return to their home states unless ordered to do so by a court.”
In total, there are about 200 federalized National Guard troops from Texas and 14 from California currently in Illinois, according to a statement from a U.S. Army official. Another 300 Illinois Guardsmen have been mobilized by the president despite the objections of Governor JB Pritzker.
The Seventh Circuit’s decision regarding Chicago National Guard troops came a week after another federal judge blocked the National Guard from deploying to Portland, Oregon, and then barred any state’s National Guard from entering the city.
A protester is arrested by police and U.S. Border Patrol agents outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, on October 6, 2025.
Ethan Swope/AP
The Trump administration appealed the decision, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily lifted a lower court’s order blocking the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops to the city.
However, a broader order prohibiting any state’s National Guard from deploying to Portland remains in effect.
