Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday laid out whether the National Guard would be deployed to Chicago, sharing the most concrete statement on a potential deployment yet.
Speaking at a news conference, Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard learned the Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the Department of War requesting 100 military personnel to be sent to Illinois for protecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and facilities during immigration enforcement efforts.
The reported instruction was given after heavily armed Border Patrol agents were seen patrolling busy streets of downtown Chicago over the weekend and protests escalated outside a Broadview ICE processing center, where chemical agents were deployed during clashes between agents and demonstrators.
Pritzker, joined by lawmakers including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, among others, criticized “the MAGA Republicans supported invasion” of Chicago, which he said, “is about creating a pretext to send armed military troops into our communities.”
A number of questions remained Monday, including when military members would be sent to Chicago and whether a deployment would involve the National Guard. The National Guard hasn’t said whether a deployment has been ordered into Illinois, and federal officials did not immediately comment on Pritzker’s remarks.
Over the past month, Pritzker said he talked to residents and business owners across the city, and not one has asked for the intervention of military troops.
“With one voice, we are telling this unwarranted and unconstitutional occupation by ICE and potentially by military troops to get out of Chicago, you are not helping us,” he stated.
As demonstrations take place in Broadview and elsewhere, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said it’s crucial that protesters follow the law.
“What the president is hoping to do is form chaos by inciting out-of-control protests,” he stated. “So I urge Illinoisans, don’t take the bait. There is no emergency in Chicago. Don’t help him create one.”
In an exclusive interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump indicated that he is still considering sending armed National Guard troops into the city.
“Any place where there is big trouble, we want to go and help out,” he said, calling Chicago a “crime-ridden mess.”
Trump also said his administration sent additional FBI resources to the city earlier this year on an “information-gathering mission.” He claimed credit for reductions in crime, though there is no available data tying reduced crime to the presence of FBI agents.
“We sent the FBI in about six months ago on an information-gathering mission and that’s what they’ve done and they’ve done a good job,” he said. “They actually brought down crime a little bit in Chicago. But, you know, that was minor compared to what has to be done. But we sent them in five months ago and we brought it down about 20 percent, 25 percent.”
Trump had previously said Pritzker would have to come to him with a request for the National Guard to be deployed, but he once again changed course on Sept. 16, claiming he has the legal authority to do so.
The president has insisted he has the authority to send the National Guard to Chicago despite a California court ruling he overstepped his authority in sending members to Los Angeles during protests and unrest there earlier this year.
Pritzker previously said he has no plans of asking for such a deployment.
“He wants to set into the fact pattern that the governor called him to ask for help. Why? Because he’s going to end up in court,” Pritzker said. “He’s going to end up in court, and that will be a fact that they will use in court. That the governor called to ask for help, and I’m sorry I’m not going to provide him with evidence to support his desire to have the court rule in his favor. I’m just not going to do that.”