A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump's efforts to send the National Guard into Chicago is on hold for now. After a hearing that lasted more than three hours yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the administration's justification for deploying federal troops was not credible. The judge ruled orally from the bench and promised a written decision today. Reporter Jon Seidel with Chicago Public Media and the Chicago Sun-Times has been following this case. So, Jon, what was the judge's reasoning?
JON SEIDEL, BYLINE: Well, Judge April Perry had really been presented by lawyers with these dueling, incompatible depictions of what's been happening on the ground in Chicago. On the one hand, state and local law enforcement have been saying they have immigration protests well in hand. And on the other, Trump's lawyers say federal law enforcement faces a, quote, "brazen new form of hostility." They refer to the protesters as actual violent resistance to duly enacted immigration laws. But in the end, Judge Perry found that the Trump administration's perception of events around Chicago are, she said, quote, "simply unreliable." And she issued this order, which lasts for 14 days.
MARTÍNEZ: Fourteen days. OK. So what did the lawyers say?
SEIDEL: Well, Illinois' attorneys talked about words like rebellion, invasion and insurrection and how those are necessary conditions for troops to be deployed under the law. They said those things just aren't happening in Chicago. But then the judge heard from Trump's lawyer, and she actually wound up questioning him for a very long time. At one point, she even asked directly whether it mattered under the law if the Trump administration had itself created the very situation it now says requires the National Guard. Trump's lawyers said it did not matter.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So you mentioned Judge April Perry. What more can you tell us about her background?
SEIDEL: Judge Perry is a former federal prosecutor in Chicago. And she made headlines during the Biden administration because Biden once nominated her to be Chicago's U.S. attorney. That nomination was blocked by none other than JD Vance, who of course went on to become Trump's vice president. And when it became clear that she wasn't going to become U.S. attorney, Biden nominated her instead to the bench. And she's actually been sitting for only about 11 months.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, there was another court hearing yesterday, Jon, involving the National Guard deployment. This one about Oregon. So what happened in that one?
SEIDEL: Yeah, this was in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. And similar to the Illinois case, President Trump sought to deploy federal troops to Oregon to deal with ICE protesters there in Portland. And that was, you know, again, over the objection of Oregon's Democratic governor and local officials, who said they were also well-equipped to handle these small protests. So the state sued the Trump administration. And the federal judge in that case temporarily halted the troop deployment. The Trump administration appealed, and that's what the hearing was about yesterday.
The panel was made up of two Trump appointees and one judge that was appointed by President Bill Clinton. They didn't issue a ruling, but they heard arguments from Trump administration attorneys who maintained it is within the president's authority to federalize and deploy the Guard in Oregon under the circumstances. And the questioning from the two Trump appointees seemed to indicate they were open to that argument. We don't know yet when they might issue a ruling.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. One more thing really quick, Jon. What's the vibe in Chicago like? Because, you know, I was in LA when all that stuff was happening a few months ago. What's the vibe in Chicago like right now?
SEIDEL: You know, it's just kind of - it's been a really hectic, chaotic few weeks. You know, crime had been coming down in Chicago. But now this latest immigration deportation campaign has really kind of turned things on their head. And, you know, at the federal courthouse where this ruling happened...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
SEIDEL: ...Prosecutions and lawsuits really exploded.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Jon Seidel with Chicago Public Media and the Chicago Sun-Times. Jon, thanks.
SEIDEL: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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