ELWOOD, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 07: Members of the Texas National Guard stand guard at an army reserve training facility on October 07, 2025 in Elwood, Illinois. The Trump administration has been threatening for more than a month to send the guard to Illinois to address Chicago’s crime problem and to support ICE and CBP during Operation Midway Blitz. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has been outspoken in his opposition to the move, accusing the president of using the guardsmen as political pawns. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A federal appeals court on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard in Illinois.
“Pending a decision on the request for a stay pending appeal, the district court’s October 9, 2025, order is temporarily STAYED only to the extent it enjoined the federalization of the National Guard of the United States within Illinois,” judges on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals wrote.
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WATCH HERE“Members of the National Guard do not need to return to their home states unless further ordered by a court to do so,” they added.
The ruling means that members of the National Guard in Illinois right now can remain federalized, but they can not be deployed in Illinois.
The move came after the Trump administration appealed an earlier decision by a federal judge to temporarily block the deployment of National Guard troops in the state.
Representatives for the White House, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
Hundreds of National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas had originally deployed to Illinois earlier this week at the direction of the Trump administration.
It comes as President Donald Trump has threatened to use the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law, to continue to deploy members of the military in American cities if the courts hold up the deployment of the troops in multiple legal challenges.
Last week, Trump federalized members of the National Guard to deploy troops near Portland and Chicago, saying that the troops would help keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Oregon and Illinois safe and that they would help these cities address crime.
The Democratic governors and mayors of Illinois and Oregon have each pushed back on Trump's moves, with each state engaged in ongoing litigation to block the deployment of National Guard troops in their states.
In response to reports about a growing threat of wildfires in Texas, Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker wrote in a post on X that, "Texas is preparing emergency resources for wildfires and floods. The Texas National Guard should be THERE — not in Illinois. We stand ready to support their return home so they are best positioned for helping Texans respond to any natural disasters."
Earlier this year, the Trump administration federalized the California National Guard to quell anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. That was blocked by a federal judge who ruled in September.
California sued again earlier this month and won when the Trump administration aimed to send California's National Guard troops to Oregon after a federal judge blocked the deployment of Oregon's National Guard there.
