Politics
Pritzker Says He’ll File Suit to Stop ‘Nefarious’ Plan to Send National Guard, Military to Chicago
Video: Joining “Chicago Tonight” to discuss potential National Guard deployments are Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward), Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd Ward) and Chicago-Kent College of Law professor Harold Krent. (Produced by Shelby Hawkins)
Gov. JB Pritzker vowed Thursday to immediately challenge in federal court any order by President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops or other armed military personnel in Chicago, as U.S. Military officials granted immigration enforcement agents access to a nearby naval base.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement strike teams are likely to hit Chicago’s streets late Friday or Saturday morning after gathering at Naval Station Great Lakes, which is about 35 miles outside of the city, Pritzker said.
The base in North Chicago will serve as a hub in upcoming operations overseen by the Department of Homeland Security in Chicago, as first reported by the Washington Post.
Unidentifiable agents in unmarked vehicles wearing masks will target Latino communities and say they’re targeting violent criminals by attempting to locate and detain undocumented immigrants, Pritzker said Tuesday, as part of efforts designed to fulfill Trump’s promise to conduct the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
“Part of their kind of nefarious plan is begin with ICE, cause mayhem on the ground, and by doing that, say that there’s a need for military troops on the ground to protect ICE,” Pritzker said Thursday, outside a school in Berwyn, where he urged parents, faculty and staff to prepare for immigration raids.
That is why everyone must protest “peacefully, not give them any reason to call in National Guard or military troops of other types,” Pritzker said.
If the president does order National Guard troops or military personnel to Chicago, Pritzker vowed to immediately act.
“We’re going to immediately go to court, if National Guard or other military troops are sent to, deployed to the city of Chicago, immediately go to court,” Pritzker said. “So that’s going to be our first line of defense is getting a court to issue a (temporary restraining order) or other injunction against that activity.”
The looming deployment was timed to coincide with celebrations of Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16, Pritzker said, and he urged Chicagoans to know their rights and “be extra careful, and know that there is the possibility that ICE will be on the ground and causing some mayhem.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson said that scheduled celebrations of Mexican Independence Day will go forward as planned.
“Why would we allow someone who is auditioning to become a dictator of democracy to intimidate the soul of America, the city of Chicago?” Johnson said. “We should celebrate.”
Pilsen’s Mexican Independence Day is scheduled to step off at noon Saturday, with Little Village’s parade is set to start at noon Sunday.
El Grito Chicago, which was set for Sept. 13-14 in Grant Park, has been postponed, organizers announced Thursday afternoon.
“This was a painful decision; however, with the heightened political tensions and given our location in downtown Chicago, we need to keep our community safe,” said German Gonzalez, the event’s organizer, in a statement. “To proceed in spite of the advice we’ve received directly from city and state officials and potentially expose our community to becoming collateral damage would be irresponsible. That’s a risk we are not willing to take.”
In recent years, caravans of vehicles decorated with Mexican flags snarled traffic across the West Side and downtown, prompting officials to block off access to the Loop and Michigan Avenue.
Chicago police officers have had their regular days off canceled between Sept. 12 and Sept. 16, a Chicago Police Department spokesperson said.
“These day off cancellations were also implemented in 2023 and 2024 during Mexican Independence Day celebrations and are not related to any federal deployments,” according to a department statement.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Trump officials violated a federal law known as the Posse Comitatus Act by using the military to fight crime in Los Angeles during those protests.
Johnson and Pritzker have repeatedly said it would be illegal and unconstitutional for the president to deploy the National Guard to Chicago over their objections.
Both the mayor and the governor have repeatedly dismissed the president’s latest pledge to combat crime as cover for an unconstitutional federal overreach.
During the first eight months of the year, homicides are down 31%, as compared with the same period a year ago, reaching the lowest level since 2014, according to Chicago Police Department data. In addition, the number of people shot has dropped 36% so far this year, according to CPD data.
State and local law enforcement officials will not assist federal immigration agents, in keeping with federal law, Pritzker said again Thursday.
But local law enforcement officers will not prevent either National Guard troops or federal agents from carrying out their duties, Pritzker said.
“There is no way for me to override, state law does not override federal law,” Pritzker said. “We have to abide by the law, we do that in the state of Illinois, we abide by the law, we abide by state law and federal law, unlike the president of the United States, who often acts in unconstitutional fashions.”
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
