Retired Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer told Newsmax on Thursday that a recent Supreme Court ruling blocking President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago makes enforcing federal law more difficult for no good reason, arguing the decision complicates efforts to protect federal officers amid unrest tied to immigration enforcement.
On "The Chris Salcedo Show," Shaffer was asked whether the ruling set a dangerous precedent, weakening our ability to protect American personnel and uphold federal law in urban environments such as Chicago.
"It does," he replied.
"I'm surprised the Supreme Court ruled the way they did. With that said, they did say in their ruling that they can use federal troops.
"It's like, OK, I don't know if that's a good idea, but it basically reinforces the fact that they do have the right, that is, the federal government, to defend federal officers engaged in lawful enforcement of immigration and the law," Shaffer added.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court on Tuesday kept in place a lower court ruling temporarily barring Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago.
The ruling followed an emergency appeal by the Trump administration seeking to use the Guard as part of its crackdown on illegal immigration.
The unsigned opinion stated that, at this stage of the case, the federal government had not identified legal authority allowing the military to enforce laws in Illinois.
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Shaffer said the ruling misapplies long-standing legal limits on military involvement in domestic affairs, including the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of federal troops in civilian law enforcement.
"So Posse Comitatus was mentioned. Posse Comitatus is something that I had to live within regarding the fact that we, intelligence officers and Department of Defense, cannot do certain intelligence acts without notifying citizens if they're not under investigation," he said.
Shaffer argued that the court's decision does not eliminate the federal government's authority but instead forces the administration to pursue less-efficient alternatives.
"But this is not a good ruling. I think, again, there's going to be options for the administration to get around it, to use federal troops instead of National Guard troops.
"I don't think it's a good decision," he said.
He added that the administration continues to deploy resources elsewhere despite the ruling.
"But as we speak, we're looking at right now deployments to New Orleans and Louisiana. So it's not stopping the federal government, with President Trump, from doing its job, but it's making it more difficult for no good reason," Shaffer said.
The ruling will remain in effect while the underlying legal challenge to the Chicago deployment proceeds in lower courts, leaving unresolved questions about federal authority during immigration-related unrest in major U.S. cities.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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