CHICAGO – President Donald Trump’s aggressive and unprecedented National Guard deployments will be further tested in two court hearings in different US states on Oct 9, as governors resisting the militarisation of their cities challenge the federal government in court.

A federal judge in Illinois will decide whether to temporarily stop the National Guard from deploying to Chicago, and an appeals court in California will review Mr Trump’s initial appeal over his decision to send troops to Portland, Oregon,

which a federal judge blocked over the weekend

.

A coalition of 24 states on Oct 8 filed a brief in support of Oregon and

California’s lawsuit

opposing the National Guard deployment in Portland. In urging the appeals court to uphold the lower court, the states argued that the deployment defies the US Constitution, overrides the state of Oregon’s authority and endangers communities in Portland.

As the legal battles play out, 500 National Guard troops stand at the ready near Chicago. 

National Guard troops are state-based militia forces that, despite wearing US Army uniforms, answer to their governors except when called into federal service. They are more typically deployed to assist with natural disasters.

Mr Trump says the troops are necessary to protect federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers whom he says are under threat from street protesters and Democratic elected officials who have refused to cooperate with the White House. Democratic governors and mayors, in turn, have accused the President of manufacturing a crisis out of political motivations.

Mr T...