Roomies, it looks like Chicago and Illinois leaders are fighting to stop a federal takeover! On Monday, leaders sued to block President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops to the state’s largest city. He threatened to send the military in as ICE-related incidents bubbled over the last week, from children detained to a U.S. citizen shot. This lawsuit is the latest news coming from the nation’s third-largest city as Trump continues to push his aggressive immigration enforcement operation.
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More Details About Chicago & Illinois’ Lawsuit Against Trump
This new lawsuit came hours after a judge blocked the National Guard’s deployment in Portland, Oregon. For context, the Trump administration has been portraying these cities as war-ravaged and lawless as it cracks down on undocumented immigration. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed over the weekend that Trump authorized the use of Illinois National Guard members. Like the president, she cited “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness.”
Meanwhile, officials in Illinois and Oregon say military intervention isn’t needed. Instead, they believe that federal involvement is inflaming the situation. The lawsuit alleges that President Trump has a long-declared “war” on Chicago and Illinois and that his “advances” in that war 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.
The immigration crackdown began last month in Chicago and the surrounding areas. Border Patrol (ICE) agents have targeted immigrant-heavy and predominantly Latino areas. Most recently, the sight of agents arresting people near famous landmarks revved up concerns from residents!
Texas Gov. Will Not Stop Deployment Of Soldiers From His State To Illinois
Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said the feds plan to federalize 300 of the state’s guard troops and deploy them to Chicago. An additional 400 others will be coming from Texas. Pritzker said the potential deployment amounted to “Trump’s invasion.” He called on Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to block it.
However, Abbott pushed back. He said the crackdown was needed to protect federal workers in the city as part of the president’s ICE enforcement.
Chicago Mayor Limits ICE Efforts, While Broadview Mayor Limits Protestors
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Monday that he signed an executive order banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement operations. Those areas include parking lots, garages and vacant lots.
At the same time, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said she was limiting protests to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Protesters have frequently rallied near the immigration facility outside the city, leading to 13 arrests on Friday. Thompson cited safety and other factors.
Elsewhere in the area, the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that agents shot a woman Saturday on the southwest side of Chicago. The department said it happened after Border Patrol agents patrolling the area were “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said it was reasonable for agents to believe they were being ambushed.
Portland Judge Blocks Trump’s Deployment Plan While Stats Show Decrease In Crime
In Portland, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut granted a temporary restraining order on Sunday. Immergut granted Oregon and California’s request to block the deployment of National Guard troops from those states to the city.
Immergut, whom Trump appointed during his first term, seemed in disbelief that the president moved to send troops to Oregon from California and then from Texas on Sunday. This happened hours after she had ruled against it the first time.
Local Portland officials have suggested that many of the president’s claims and social media posts about the city seemingly rely on images from 2020. Five years later, the city has reduced crime. Also, downtown has seen fewer homeless encampments and more foot traffic.
Trump isn’t new to legal pushback on his immigration crackdown. A federal judge in September said the administration “willfully” broke federal law by deploying guard troops to Los Angeles over protests about immigration raids.
Overall, more violent crime around the U.S. has actually declined in recent years, including in Portland. From January through June, homicides decreased by 51% compared to the same period in 2024, per data the Associated Press reviewed.
Since the start of his second term, Donald Trump has sent or talked about sending troops to 10 cities. His list includes Baltimore; Memphis, Tennessee; the District of Columbia; New Orleans; and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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Associated Press reporters Christine Fernando and Sophia Tareen contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
