Video above – Report: 30 arrested in overnight immigration operation in Chicago
CHICAGO (WGN) – Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says President Donald Trump is calling 300 members of the Illinois National Guard over the governor’s objections.
“In the coming hours, the Trump Administration intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard. They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance — not a serious effort the protect public safety. For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control,” Pritzker wrote in a statement.
The news comes as “Operation Midway Blitz,” a mass deportation plan, began on Sept. 8, leading to the arrests of hundreds of immigrants.
On Friday, Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward), said she was handcuffed and threatened by federal agents inside a Humboldt Park hospital for asking federal agents if they had a warrant for a patient inside.
Also on Friday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino visited the ICE processing facility in Broadview, though the reason for their visit is unclear.
Noem also allegedly went to Village Hall in Broadview on Friday morning, but there are conflicting accounts about what happened.
Noem posted on social media that she went there with her team for a restroom break. However, village officials said she went there to speak with Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson.
WGN-TV has reached out to officials for clarification.
The Broadview facility has also been the site of large protests that have resulted in federal agents clashing with protesters, with agents utilizing tear gas to disperse the large crowd.
Local law enforcement also set up a new free speech zone near the Broadview facility. The free speech zone consists of barricades that allow people to protest while still allowing ICE agents to move in and out of the facility.
ICE agents also conducted a raid at a Bronzeville shelter earlier this week.
“About 9:15 a.m. [Wednesday] morning, seven unmarked cars showed up, jumped out of cars and immediately gave chase,” Caryl R. West of Bright Star Community Development Corp said. “We were also traumatized by what was happening and how we had to watch our residents suffer, and they’ve clearly been through so much trauma…there’s a lot of anxiety whether or not they’re coming back.”
Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security said at least 37 people were also arrested in an overnight immigration raid at around 1 a.m. Tuesday in South Shore. That raid is said to be largest immigration enforcement raid so far in Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz.
The full statement from Pritzker on the pending deployment of the Illinois National Guard can be found below:
This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.
In the coming hours, the Trump Administration intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard. They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance — not a serious effort the protect public safety. For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control.
This demand follows unprecedented escalations of aggression against Illinois citizens and residents. Yesterday, Kristi Noem’s and Greg Bovino’s masked agents threw chemical agents near an elementary school, arrested elected officials exercising their First Amendment rights, and raided a Wal-Mart. None of it was in pursuit of justice, but all of it was in pursuit of social media videos.
I want to be clear: there is no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois. State, county, and local law enforcement have been working together and coordinating to ensure public safety around the Broadview ICE facility, and to protect people’s ability to peacefully exercise their connotational rights. I will not call up our National Guard to further Trump’s acts of aggression against our people.
In Illinois, we will do everything within our power to look out for our neighbors, uphold the Constitution, and defend the rule of law.
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