Illinois has launched a legal challenge to block US President Donald Trump from deploying hundreds of federalised National Guard troops into the streets of Chicago.

The legal challenge on Monday, local time, came hours after a judge blocked the Guard's deployment in Portland, Oregon, in the latest flashpoint in a growing number of court battles over the president's authority to deploy military forces domestically.

The Trump administration has portrayed the cities as war-ravaged and lawless amid the government's crackdown on illegal immigration.

Officials in Illinois and Oregon say military intervention is not needed and that federal involvement is inflaming the situation.

The lawsuit alleges that "these advances in President Trump's long-declared 'War' on Chicago and Illinois are unlaw

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