CHICAGO – Attorneys for the states of Oregon and Illinois argued in court Thursday, Oct. 9, that President Donald Trump's recent deployment of National Guard troops was unwarranted, as legal battles over the mobilization of soldiers to blue cities played out simultaneously.

In Chicago, a federal judge decided to grant in part Illinois' request to block the deployment of troops to the nation's third-largest city. A government lawyer argued violent clashes between protesters and federal agents justified the president marshaling guardsmen to Chicago. An attorney representing Illinois accused the government of exaggerating the facts on the ground.

"DHS’ account of events are simply unreliable," said U.S. District Judge April M. Perry, explaining why she was ruling in favor of Illinois attorneys and against the Department of Homeland Security’s move to call troops to Chicago.

Perry referenced a number of recent legal rulings against the Trump administration in federal court in Chicago: "In the last 48 hours, four separate, unrelated legal decisions all cast significant doubt on DHS credibility and assessment of what’s happening on the streets of Chicago."

It’s unclear how soon National Guard troops would have to adjust their movements in response to Perry’s ruling. The judge said she would issue a full written opinion on Oct. 10.

Trump’s lawyers have indicated that they don’t believe Perry’s ruling would actually matter, arguing that the president’s decision is not subject to judicial review.

In California, a federal appeals court heard arguments centered on a lower court's order that prevented the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland. The panel's conservative majority appeared skeptical of the state's arguments and said the president is entitled to deference in determining when troops are necessary.

The legal battles come as National Guard troops began patrolling an immigration facility in Broadview, Illinois, a village about 12 miles west of downtown Chicago. The facility has been the site of protests against aggressive ICE raids in the city, with occasional clashes erupting between federal agents and demonstrators.

State and local officials have pushed back and accused the White House of manufacturing a crisis to justify sending soldiers into Democratic strongholds. Trump characterized the cities as in crisis and accused leaders of impeding immigration operations.

Meanwhile, leaders in Memphis announced Tennessee National Guard troops will begin patrolling the city on Friday, Oct. 10. Unlike the governors of Ilinois and Oregon, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee welcomed the federal intervention.

Judge in Chicago presses federal government on deployment

U.S. District Judge April M. Perry, a Biden appointee, questioned the government's lawyers on how much latitude Trump has in mobilizing federal troops, their definition of a "rebellion" and what soldiers will be doing in Chicago.

Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton said there doesn't have to be an "actual rebellion" for the president to mobilize the National Guard, adding that there only needs to be "a danger of rebellion." Perry said the government's definition of the word was broad.

Hamilton also could not precisely say what troops would do or where they would be stationed in Chicago, drawing more skepticism from the judge.

Perry said it wasn’t clear to her that the troops' mission would be limited to protecting federal agents or the immigration facility in Broadview, Illinois, where anti-ICE protests have been concentrated.

"I am very much struggling with where this would ever stop," Perry said.

Perry is expected to rule on whether to block the federal government's use of National Guard troops in Chicago.

Judges appear skeptical of Oregon's case against Trump's troop deployment

In San Francisco, the three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared skeptical of Oregon's arguments that Trump's deployment of National Guard troops was unlawful and unwarranted.

The judges pressed Stacy Chaffin, who is representing Oregon, on the size of the protests and flare ups of violence in recent weeks. The judges also noted that the law grants deference to the president in determining when troop deployments are necessary to protect federal agents and property.

"The president gets to direct his resources as he deems fit, and it just seems a little counterintuitive to me that the city of Portland can come in and say 'No, you need to do it differently,'" said Judge Ryan Nelson, a Trump appointee.

Chaffin argued that while that may be true, Trump has consistently mischaracterized and exaggerated the protests in Portland.

"The president is entitled to great deference, but that deference has a limit," Chaffin told the court. "And that limit is this case, where the president's determinations are untethered from reality."

Eric McArthur, an attorney representing the federal government, asked the court to overrule the lower court's order preventing National Guard troops from entering Portland. He accused the state of downplaying violence at demonstrations.

"These are violent people and if at any point we let down our guard there is a serious risk of ongoing violence," he told the court.

Lawsuits pile up against Trump's deployments

The Trump administration is battling four lawsuits over National Guard deployments to Democratic-led cities, including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Portland and Chicago. So far, judges in Los Angeles and Portland ruled the deployments to be illegal and unwarranted.

In the Portland case, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, blocked an initial deployment of Oregon National Guards troops before the White House announced it would send guardsmen from California and Texas. The attempt to sidestep Immergut's initial order led her to prohibit any troops from entering Portland.

The Trump administration appealed the decision to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has previously ruled in its favor. The appeals court in June overruled a lower court's finding that the deployment of troops to Los Angeles over the summer was illegal, citing flare ups of violence and property damage during anti-ICE protests.

In Illinois, state and local leaders this week sued the Trump administration over its deployment of troops. U.S. District Judge April M. Perry at an emergency hearing allowed the deployment to move forward but warned that any troop action before an Oct. 9 hearing could be used as evidence against the Trump administration.

Trump, Democratic officials clash amid tensions over ICE, National Guard

Trump said Portland was "war-ravaged" and described Chicago as "the worst and most dangerous city in the world." City and state officials have challenged the president's characterizations and claimed the rhetoric was being used to justify a mobilization of troops.

In Portland, a judge appointed by the president said anti-ICE protests were small and mostly peaceful. She said Trump's description of Portland being under siege by radical terrorists was "untethered to the facts."

In Chicago, larger protests erupted after Trump launched an immigration enforcement blitz in the city, leading to increasingly aggressive operations. One raid saw masked federal agents repelling from Black Hawk helicopters and wrecking an apartment building. In the Logan Square neighborhood, a school held recess indoors after federal officers deployed a chemical agent nearby.

At protests, federal authorities used rubbed bullets and pepper spray to clamp down on demonstrations in Chicago. This week, groups of nonprofits, journalists, protesters and a pastor filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration saying federal agents responded to demonstrations "with a pattern of extreme brutality in a concerted and ongoing effort to silence the press and civilians."

Trump cabinet officials have defended the tactics employed by federal law enforcement, saying they are carrying out the president's mass deportation campaign and alleging that agents were under constant threat of attacks.

"It's an extremely dangerous situation and unprecedented," said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in an appearance on "Fox and Friends."

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's National Guard deployments in Chicago, Portland face legal tests

Reporting by Christopher Cann and Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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