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Trump administration seeks to deploy 100 military troops to Illinois, governor says
Gov. JB Pritzker said the Trump administration is seeking to deploy 100 military troops to Illinois to protect federal immigration personnel and facilities.
CHICAGO - Gov. JB Pritzker said the Trump administration is seeking to deploy 100 military troops to Illinois to protect federal immigration personnel and facilities.
Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard received word that the Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the Department of War to seek the deployment of troops.
"What I have been warning of is now being realized," Pritzker said.
He and other state and local officials called the reported and anticipated actions by federal agents illegal and unprecedented.
What we know:
The dramatic revelation comes as armed federal immigration agents patrolled several of Chicago’s busiest tourist areas on Sunday and protests at a suburban ICE detention facility have at times become violent.
The governor later said it was unclear exactly which troops would be deployed to the state. He reiterated that the Trump administration has not been in contact with state or local officials.
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Trump admin seeks to deploy 100 military troops to Illinois, Pritzker says
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that the Department of Homeland Security asked the Illinois National Guard to request 100 military troops from the Department of War to protect ICE personnel and facilities in the state.
Pritzker said reports of federal agents "abusing their power, intimidating innocent civilians and waging war on our people" are part of a strategy to "create a pretext" to deploy troops to the Chicago area.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any plans to deploy troops.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul said it would be illegal for the Trump administration to send the National Guard to Illinois. He cited a lawsuit filed by Oregon against the administration over the same issue.
Raoul said similar legal action could be expected in Illinois if troops show up. He added that the memo itself from DHS was not enough to warrant a lawsuit right now, but he said "we are prepared."
The backstory:
The governor's revelation comes after weeks of speculation over whether the Trump administration would federalize the National Guard and send troops to Chicago.
President Trump has multiple times voiced interest in sending troops to Chicago, but so far has not announced specific actions.
Instead, he's looked to other areas like Memphis, Tennessee, and most recently, Portland, Oregon.
Officials in Illinois have pushed back hard against Trump's threats to send troops in, and Pritzker has threatened to sue the administration if it follows through on the president's threats.
According to Pritzker, the Trump administration is using the protection of ICE facilities and personnel as justification for deployment of troops.
The governor referenced recent violent clashes involving immigration enforcement agents in the Chicago area, including one which resulted in the Sept. 12 fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez in suburban Franklin Park. Initially, the Trump administration said the agent was seriously injured trying to arrest Gonzalez, but police body camera footage later revealed the agent said his injuries were "nothing major."
BROADVIEW, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 27: Federal law enforcement agents attack demonstrators protesting outside of an immigrant processing center with a barrage of tear gas and pepper balls on September 27, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. The demonstrators w …
On multiple occasions in recent weeks, protests at an ICE detention facility in suburban Broadview have at times turned violent. The governor decried protesters being fired upon with chemical agents, rubber bullets and flash bangs.
Broadview officials said ICE told local police they intended to unleash "a (expletive) show" in the village. Pritzker also decried reported arrests and at least one attack on journalists, saying federal agents acted like "jack-booted thugs."
Just on Sunday, dozens of ICE officers, some wearing military-style uniforms and masks, were seen walking along Wacker Drive, Michigan Avenue, Millennium Park, the Riverwalk and River North.
"I think it's clear that there are no rules for ICE," Pritzker said. "That they literally just believe that they have the run of the place. That they can take out their aggression on the people of Broadview, on the people of the City of Chicago. That the federal government and the president of the United States have given them carte blanche to do whatever they want."
The governor said about 1,500 people have been detained by ICE in the Chicago area in recent weeks and about 60% have no criminal record.
Pritzker and Raoul emphasized they were not opposed to the federal government helping to fight crime and arresting people with violent criminal records. But, they argued, the way in which the Trump administration is acting should not be allowed.
"I am outraged by what's happening and we're seeing that ICE just doesn't give a damn," Pritzker said.