White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended President Donald Trump's deployment of U.S. troops to American cities, insisting Trump just wants to "help" local leaders "make America's cities safe again."

The comments came as Illinois leaders went to court Monday to stop Trump from sending National Guard troops to Chicago, escalating a clash between Democratic-led states and the Republican administration during an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s third-largest city.

That legal challenge came hours after a judge blocked the Guard's deployment in Portland, Oregon.

Leavitt slammed the judge who temporarily blocked Trump from deploying the Guard to Portland, saying her opinion is "untethered in reality."

“With all due respect to that judge, I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law,” Leavitt said. “The president is using his authority as commander in chief.”

U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, says that the relatively small protests the city has seen did not justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.

The Trump administration has portrayed the cities as war-ravaged and lawless amid the government's crackdown on illegal immigration. Officials in Illinois and Oregon say military intervention isn’t needed and that federal involvement is inflaming the situation.