CHICAGO (AP/WGN) — The Trump administration now has two days to respond to an Illinois lawsuit to block the federalization of the Illinois National Guard and the Texas National Guard.
President Donald Trump has stated that he wants troops on duty in Illinois to protect immigration enforcement.
In response to Trump’s plan, state and city officials came together to announce their efforts to push back. The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued President Trump’s administration to block the deployment.
The White House said that the military is necessary to protect federal immigration agents and facilities. However, local Democratic leaders refer to the move as an authoritarian takeover.
All told, the judge did not grant the state’s request to stop the deployment, ensuring the legal battle will continue.
In the court filing, the state said the Trump administration has subjected Illinois to serious and irreparable harm, infringing upon Illinois’s sovereignty and right to self-governance. The suit named Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll as defendants.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker held a news conference Monday afternoon, hours after the state of Illinois and Chicago sued to block Trump’s deployment of National Guard members to the city. To make his point about the militarization of the federal operations, Pritzker played a full Homeland Security video of the federal raid on an apartment building in South Shore. Thirty-seven people were arrested, but everyone in the building was woken up in the middle of the night as United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) searched for unauthorized immigrants, people suspected of drug trafficking, and weapons crimes.
“There is no invasion here, there is no insurrection here,” Prtizker said. “Local and state law enforcement are on the job, managing what they need to. Without my permission and against my vigorous objection, the president has federalized 300 Illinois National Guard military troops and hundreds of National Guard members from Texas.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also spoke at the Monday afternoon news conference, which began at 2:15 p.m., along with Attorney General Kwame Raoul, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, and other elected officials.
“With [Monday’s] litigation, we send a message to the president: Chicago will not be used as a political prop, Chicago will not be intimidated, and we will not be silent,” Johnson said.
“It’s never been about immigrants, it’s about controlling our communities – brown, Asian, Black, and everyone who is Chicagoland,” Garcia added.
“President Trump’s long-declared ‘War’ on Chicago and Illinois are unlawful and dangerous“
On Saturday, Trump moved to deploy the National Guard by authorizing 300 troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed that the president authorized using the Illinois National Guard members, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.
The lawsuit alleges that “these advances in President Trump’s long-declared ‘War’ on Chicago and Illinois are unlawful and dangerous.”
“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor,” the lawsuit says.
Pritzker said the potential deployment amounted to “Trump’s invasion” and called on Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to block it. Abbott pushed back and said the crackdown was needed to protect federal workers who are in the city as part of the president’s increased immigration enforcement.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed in a weekend statement that Trump authorized using Illinois National Guard members, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.
In a separate move, Johnson said he signed an executive order barring federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property, such as parking lots, garages, and vacant lots, as staging areas for enforcement operations.
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