A federal appeals court on Oct. 11 said the Trump administration cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois.

But the brief ruling by the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, located in Chicago, said President Donald Trump can still federalize the National Guard. The ruling said troops already deployed don’t need to return home for now.

The appellate ruling largely upholds an Oct. 9 temporary restraining order by a federal district judge in the Northern District of Illinois that prevented the administration from deploying troops in the state. In her opinion, Judge April Perry wrote the National Guard deployment “is likely to lead to civil unrest.”

The Chicago area has been at the center of the administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz. Protests have erupted in response, particularly in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the suburb of Broadview.

The administration had deployed National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas in response to what it described as violent clashes between protesters and agents in the Midwestern state and Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city. Local and state officials said the federal government is exaggerating facts on the ground.

The state of Illinois and city of Chicago sued the Trump administration to oppose sending troops to the Democrat-led city and state. U.S. Justice Department lawyers appealed Perry's ruling on Oct. 10.

Spokespeople for both Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t immediately respond to email requests for comment. The White House didn’t immediately respond to an email request.

Trump has also sent National Guard to other heavily blue cities, against local officials’ wishes. In Memphis, Tennessee National Guard began patrolling the city on Oct. 10, city officials announced. Republican state officials welcomed the administration’s action.

Elsewhere, Portland, Oregon, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have seen federal troops sent by the GOP administration. Judges in California and Oregon have found deployments illegal and unwarranted.

Contributing: Christopher Cann and Michael Loria

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump can't deploy National Guard in Illinois, but troops can stay, court rules

Reporting by Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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