Trump administration asks court to allow deployment of National Guard in Chicago

Federal agents open up the gate of a fence built on Beach Street to let in a truck outside the Broadview Ice processing facility (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago area, escalating Donald Trump’s conflict with Democratic governors over using the military on US soil.

The emergency appeal came after a judge prevented, for at least two weeks, the deployment of Guard members from Illinois and Texas to assist immigration enforcement.

A federal appeals court refused to put the judge’s order on hold.

The conservative-dominated court has handed the president repeated victories in emergency appeals since he took office in January, after lower courts ruled against him and often over the objection of the three liberal justices.

The court has allowed Mr Trump to ban transgender people from the military, claw back billions of dollars of Congress-approved federal spending, move aggressively against immigrants and fire the presidentially appointed leaders of independent federal agencies,

In the dispute over the Guard, US District Judge April Perry said she found no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” was brewing in Illinois during Mr Trump’s immigration crackdown.