The Trump — administration has ordered the federalization of 300 members of the Illinois National Guard, Governor J.B. Pritzker said Saturday, denouncing the move as an “outrageous and un-American” overreach by Washington.
According to Pritzker, Illinois officials were informed by the Pentagon earlier in the day that Guard troops would be called up under federal authority. The governor said he was not told when or where the forces would be deployed, but President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to send troops into Chicago amid escalating immigration enforcement operations and street protests.
“This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Pritzker said in a statement. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment the Illinois deployment marks another flashpoint in the Trump administration’s growing use of federal troops in domestic law enforcement. Over the summer, the president dispatched the National Guard to Los Angeles and federalized units in Washington, D.C., as part of what he described as efforts to “restore order” in American cities.
California Governor Gavin Newsom successfully sued to block the Los Angeles deployment, with a federal court ruling that the use of state Guard forces under federal command was unlawful. The administration has appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The heightened tensions in Illinois come after a woman was shot and wounded by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood on Saturday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said agents opened fire after being “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.” The woman, who was not a target of the operation but was struck by gunfire, drove herself to a nearby hospital and was later released.
The Chicago Police Department said its officers responded to the scene but were not involved in the shooting. The investigation is being led by federal authorities.
Governor Pritzker called Trump’s order a “manufactured performance” designed for political theater, arguing it would disrupt the lives of Guard members and their families.
“For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control,” he said, adding that Illinois law enforcement agencies have been coordinating effectively without federal intervention.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and Army combat veteran, condemned the move as a “dangerous, un-American, and unconstitutional abuse of our military.”
“Our service members signed up to defend the Constitution—not to be used as political props,” Duckworth said. “Policing Americans is not the military’s job.”
Two U.S. defense officials, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that discussions have been ongoing regarding a potential long-term federalized mission in Chicago and possibly other major cities.
The Illinois action comes amid a broader expansion of federal law enforcement authority. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said Saturday that additional “Special Operations” officers would be sent to Chicago following protests outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the suburb of Broadview.
Thirteen people were arrested during demonstrations near the facility Friday night, part of a wave of protests that have accompanied Trump’s fall immigration enforcement surge.
The president last month announced plans to deploy federal troops to Portland, Oregon, calling the city “war-ravaged.” Local officials disputed that characterization and sued to block the move, arguing that Trump’s statements relied on outdated imagery from 2020 protests following the killing of George Floyd.
As of Saturday, 200 National Guard troops have been federalized in Oregon but have not yet entered Portland. They have been seen training on the state’s coast in anticipation of possible deployment.
Pritzker vowed to challenge the Illinois order in court, saying, “Illinois will not be strong-armed by a president who mistakes political theater for leadership.”
