Ironically, Trump was silent on Saturday about the deployment after months of mocking Chicago and Pritzker<\/a>, a vehement critic of the president, over the city\u2019s crime problems and threatening a federalization and mobilization of National Guard troops to the nation\u2019s third-largest city. Trump made no statement or comment on his Truth Social social media network about the deployment as of Saturday evening.<\/p>\n Instead, it was Pritzker who said he had been given an ultimatum from Trump\u2019s Department of Defense: \u201cCall up your troops, or we will.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,\u201d Pritzker said in a statement, adding that he believed it was Illinois National Guard members who were the troops being mobilized.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s announcement came just hours after federal immigration agents shot a woman<\/a> in a disputed incident in Chicago\u2019s Brighton Park neighborhood. While a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said on social media that the woman was part of a group of drivers who \u201cboxed in\u201d and rammed a car carrying federal agents, activists said a car containing ICE agents crashed into a civilian car and the agents then began shooting.<\/p>\n Federal officers detain a person while community members and activists protest near the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue, Oct. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Members of the community and activists protest federal officers near the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue, Oct. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Community members and activists protest federal agents’s actions after a protester was shot near the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue on Oct. 4, 2025, in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Chicago police assist federal agents as members of the community and activists protest near the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue on Oct. 4, 2025, in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Federal agents are on the scene where community members and activists protest after a protester was shot near the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue on Oct. 4, 2025, in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Elizabeth Ruiz pleads with a U.S. Border Patrol agent for information about her son, Anthony Ruiz, as she is moved back behind police tape. Anthony Ruiz was detained by federal agents during a protest on the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue in Chicago\u2019s Brighton Park neighborhood on Oct. 4, 2025. (Peter Tsai\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A woman is given milk to ease the pain in her eyes after federal officers threw canisters of chemical agents at community members and protesters from their vehicles while leaving the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue, Oct. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 7<\/p>\n Federal officers detain a person while community members and activists protest near the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue, Oct. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n Expand<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The woman did not appear to be seriously injured but the shooting at the intersection of Pershing Road and South Kedzie Avenue quickly sparked protests nearby, in which federal agents used flash-bang grenades and deployed tear gas at protesters after some had tossed water bottles at the agents.<\/p>\n A deployment of the Guard was confirmed hours after Pritzker\u2019s statement by the White House.<\/p>\n \u201cAmidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders like Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has authorized 300 national guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets,\u201d White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. \u201cPresident Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities.\u201d<\/p>\n The White House did not elaborate on whether Illinois National Guard troops will be mobilized or if members of the Guard from out of state would be utilized.<\/p>\n But Pritzker countered that the Trump administration\u2019s plans were unnecessary and would \u201cpull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance \u2014 not a serious effort (to) protect public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Trump\u2019s repeated threats of military intervention, the governor has maintained, \u201cThere is no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois.\u201d He said state, county and local law enforcement have been coordinating to ensure the constitutional rights and public safety are preserved around ICE\u2019s facility in west suburban Broadview, where sizeable protests<\/a> have routinely resulted in activists and residents being tear-gassed<\/a> and shot with pepper balls and other projectiles.<\/p>\n \u201cI will not call up our National Guard to further Trump\u2019s acts of aggression against our people,\u201d Pritzker said.<\/p>\n The announcement comes nearly a month after Trump\u2019s Department of Homeland Security launched its Operation Midway Blitz surge of immigration enforcement activities on Sept. 8, which DHS said has resulted in more than 800 arrests<\/a>. A memo sent Sept. 26 by DHS to the Department of Defense, which has been obtained by the Tribune<\/a>, stated that the troops were needed to protect ICE personnel and facilities.<\/p>\n It also follows one day after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visited the Broadview ICE facility at 1930 Beach St., where she stood on the roof surrounded by heavily armed agents while observing protests on the ground below.<\/p>\n Despite the demonstrations, Noem maintained the people of Chicago \u201care grateful you are here\u201d and told agents as they prepared to leave the facility for enforcement activities, \u201cWe\u2019re going to go hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Noem also spoke of an expansion of ICE\u2019s facility<\/a> by purchasing a nearby building and said it would \u201csend a message: We\u2019re not just here, we\u2019re here to stay, and we\u2019re expanding and we\u2019re going to make this city safe again.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal operations have cast a wide net across the Chicago region, and while Trump officials claim they are arresting \u201cthe worst of the worst,\u201d ICE and federal Border Patrol agents have been accused of repeatedly arresting<\/a> and detaining American citizens and individuals who did not have criminal backgrounds.<\/p>\n Following the governor\u2019s announcement, Democratic leaders in Illinois criticized any effort to deploy troops to the state.<\/p>\n \u201cTerrorizing families with midnight raids and military troops in our streets is writing a shameful chapter in our nation\u2019s history,\u201d U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in a statement. \u201cThis President is not intent on fighting crime. He is intent on spreading fear.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth added that federalizing National Guard troops is \u201ca dangerous, un-American, and unconstitutional abuse of our military, intended to instill fear and threaten American civil rights.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur military men and women signed up to defend the Constitution and our rights, not be used as political props or to silence dissent. Illinois does not want or need troops in our cities. Full stop,\u201d said Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran.<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who is running for Senate to replace Durbin, who is retiring, said in a statement that Trump is \u201cplaying dictator and abusing his powers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump is bringing war to Chicago. He\u2019s called our city violent and out of control, yet he is the one who has endangered our communities, terrorized immigrants, and wreaked chaos,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Another Senate candidate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, said, \u201cOur city is not a sandbox for Donald Trump to play dictator. It\u2019s intentional cruelty that will devastate families and scar our communities.\u201d While U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said the National Guard \u201cshould never be used as political props, and Illinois will not stand by while the Trump Administration tries to turn law enforcement into a weapon of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n Pritzker has regularly urged residents to utilize peaceful protests to voice opposition to the immigration enforcement push and to avoid contentious interactions with agents \u2014 something he said he believed Trump was encouraging to provide the president with a pretext for sending in the Guard.<\/p>\n But Hands Off Chicago, a group supported by a number of nonprofits, advocacy organizations and unions, said \u201csimply asking people to know their rights and speak out has already proven insufficient\u201d and called for a stronger state response.<\/p>\n \u201cAdvocacy organizations, elected leaders, faith leaders, labor, business, community groups, and more have and will continue to peacefully exercise our constitutional rights in protest of military occupation by the Trump Administration,\u201d the group said. \u201cWe urge our state and local elected leaders to think creatively and aggressively about the assets available to warn residents and protect peaceful protesters.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump previously federalized Guard troops in Los Angeles after sporadic anti-ICE protests in June and did the same along with law enforcement in Washington, D.C., in August. Early last month, he said he was deploying the Guard to Memphis with the support of Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Lee, and late last month he said he was authorizing the Guard to go into Portland, Oregon, over the objection of local officials.<\/p>\n On Saturday night, Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee on the U.S. District Court in Oregon, issued a temporary restraining order blocking the president\u2019s mobilization of 200 National Guard members in Portland, writing the decision to deploy troops was not \u201cconceived in good faith\u201d and that the president\u2019s\u00a0claims about chaos in Portland was \u201csimply untethered to the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, called the ruling \u201ca healthy check on the president.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt reaffirms what we already knew: Portland is not the president\u2019s war-torn fantasy. Our city is not ravaged, and there is no rebellion,\u201d Rayfield said in a statement that echoed Pritzker\u2019s remarks about Chicago. \u201cMembers of the Oregon National Guard are not a tool for him to use in his political theater.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the Guard is prohibited from conducting law enforcement activities on U.S. soil. A federal judge in California ruled the Guard\u2019s actions in Los Angeles violated that prohibition, but the case is being appealed. Pritzker also has threatened a lawsuit over the Guard\u2019s use in Illinois.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s federalization of the National Guard troops, despite the governor\u2019s objections, is unprecedented in Illinois. State officials have stated that there is no historical record of the National Guard being federalized for an in-state response without the governor\u2019s request or agreement.<\/p>\n In August, Trump threatened<\/a> to send National Guard troops to Chicago. At first, he said it was to tamp down overall crime, following up on his moves to deploy troops in Washington, D.C.<\/a> The administration later revised that messaging, saying troops were needed to protect immigration officers and buildings.<\/p>\n As the White House has pushed for more deportations, the president has also slammed sanctuary laws across the nation, including in Chicago and Illinois, that prevent local law enforcement from working with federal agents on immigration enforcement. Under Illinois\u2019 TRUST Act, signed into law in 2017 by a Republican governor, local and state law enforcement agencies are generally prohibited from assisting federal immigration enforcement with deportations or related tasks.<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-ICE-1001-9_241729844_a43821.jpg\")
\n![\"Community](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-ICE-1001-6_241729840.jpg\")
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-ICE-1001-12_241729864.jpg\")
\n![\"Federal](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-ICE-1001-10_241729850.jpg\")
\n![\"Elizabeth](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-Brighton-Park-ICE-activity-001b_241730790.jpg\")
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-ICE-1001-32_241734466.jpg\")
\n![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-broadview-ICE-protest404_.jpg\")
Protesters confront Illinois State Police troopers outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CTC-L-broadview-ice-protests012_239880880-e1759341295407.jpg\")
Protesters lock arms and block Harvard Street while federal agents stand guard at a gate leading to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n