Illinois cannot yet file suit against the federal government for an apparent plan to send federal troops to Chicago, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said, but if boots hit the ground, President Donald Trump “should expect a legal challenge here.”
It would be the latest in a bevy of lawsuits that the state has filed against the Trump administration in relation to immigration.
That includes two lawsuits – one of which Raoul filed Sept. 29 – against the administration’s plan to withhold funding from states that don’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“None of this chaos, and none of these acts make us safer,” Raoul said Monday, referring to the administration’s efforts to federalize National Guard troops and withhold funding for states that limit law enforcement collaboration with ICE.
House Republicans, meanwhile, called a news conference Sept. 30 saying they want to “bring down the tension” and once again called for repealing the state’s TRUST Act that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from assisting ICE with civil immigration enforcement.
Legality of troop deployment
Thus far, Illinois officials know little about the federal government’s plan – or if one will even be executed – to send troops to Chicago. Gov. JB Pritzker said Sept. 29 the Illinois National Guard learned of a memo from the Department of Homeland Security that requested the Department of War send 100 troops to the city.
Pritzker said DHS sought the activation of troops to protect “ICE personnel and facilities.” He also said he didn’t know whether the troops requested would be Illinois National Guard or from another state.
Over the weekend, armed Customs and Border Patrol officers paraded through the streets of Chicago arresting people, while ICE shot chemical projectiles and rubber bullets at protesters in Broadview, including allegedly at a TV news reporter’s car. As of Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported that federal prosecutors had charged five people in relation to recent protests, including two who were apparently armed.
Raoul noted it is illegal to prevent federal agents from doing their jobs, including trying to block vehicles. But he also said the 10th Amendment “preserves state sovereignty to enforce state laws as they see fit,” previewing his legal arguments should troops arrive.
“The militia clauses of the United States Constitution give Congress sole authority to decide what factual circumstances allow the presidents to federalize the National Guard. They don’t exist here,” Raoul said.
In August, a federal judge ruled the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard soldiers in Los Angeles to engage in law enforcement was illegal. The Trump administration has since appealed. The attorney general of Oregon is also challenging a recent troop deployment.
But it’s unclear whether a judge would deem the apparent purpose of this deployment – to protect ICE and federal buildings, according to Pritzker – as permissible.
“Clearly, this deployment of the federal officers into our well-policed central business district is meant to provoke Chicagoans,” Raoul said. “What the President is hoping to do is foment chaos by inciting out-of-control protests. So I urge Illinoisans: Don’t take the bait. There is no emergency in Chicago. Don’t help him create one.”
GOP blames Pritzker
None of the three House Republican leaders who called a news conference Sept. 30 expressed concerns about the potential deployment of federal troops to Chicago or the actions of ICE and Border Patrol agents in the city.
The Biden administration’s lax border policies made Illinois “unable to keep up with the flood of illegal immigrants coming into the country,” Rep. CD Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, said. That affected crime rates and the state budget, he said.
Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, said he believed ICE agents were on Michigan Avenue because of Pritzker’s actions. He criticized Pritzker’s comment, made in Los Angeles last March, that Democrats need to become “street fighters” in the political arena.
“I haven’t seen reporting of our governor saying what is occurring with ICE is illegal,” Keicher said. “He just feels it’s wrong, and that’s the premise of the issue. He should be addressing this through legal challenges. He’s choosing not to, because the actions of ICE are legal.”
Pritzker agreed with the premise that everyone should tone down their rhetoric, but he again criticized Trump at an unrelated Sept. 30 news conference.
“The president of the United States is trying to label the Democratic Party as if it’s some terrorist organization,” Pritzker said. “Who is inciting people? It’s usually the Republicans and Donald Trump, who are accusing other people of the very thing they are guilty of.”
In relation to protests in Broadview, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie criticized Pritzker for calling on Illinoisans to record interactions with ICE and Border Patrol and to seek badge numbers from the masked agents.
“It again goes back to Gov. Pritzker calling people to go there, show up and record, be present,” she said. “If there is something going on there, why is the governor sending citizens to this site? Why is he not sending law enforcement?”
Asked about the CBS-Chicago journalist who said her car was hit by a pepper ball, McCombie responded: “I would highly doubt that ICE was targeting anybody from the media. They’re doing their job, trying to protect themselves, the facility and the detainees.”
The reporter said there were no protests happening when her car was hit; the Broadview Police Department said it was investigating.
Court documents detailed
The court documents, filed Friday and first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, detail the arrests of 27 people in Chicago and eight suburbs. Among the accounts were arrests of a father driving to church, a grandmother with no criminal history who takes care of her grandchildren, and many people on their way to work.
According to the filing, the 27 arrestees in question were not told why they were being detained, and in some cases, ICE officers were masked, did not identify themselves or even display a badge. The filing alleges NIJC has received reports of more than 70 additional arrests that may constitute violations of the consent decree.
On Sept. 29, the Chicago Tribune reported on a family of undocumented immigrants arrested over the weekend at Chicago’s Millennium Park while ICE ramped up its presence downtown. According to the report, federal agents took the family into custody without warrants despite the mother demanding to see one. She and her children, ages 3 and 8, are being held at O’Hare Airport awaiting transfer to Texas before deportation to Guatemala. Her husband is at the ICE processing center in Broadview.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
This article appears in October 2-8, 2025.
Nothing makes democrats angrier than when law enforcement enforces the law.
I would strongly suggest that the Gov and the City of Chicago keep protesters under control and have them limited to specific areas in order to stop any potential for such violence.
I don’t like to write negative comments, but had to this time.
According to the filing, the 27 arrestees in question were not masked ICE officers on their way to work at O’Hare Airport. It was a very stressful period following Comey’s indictment. (Thinking it would be a pleasant experience turned out to be a nightmare. ) In my humble opinion, Anyone asked to arrest him would be in full possession of those facts, and refusal to arrest him would be refusing to do the job on political grounds.
Conversely, Comey hired a friend of his and gave him a security clearance for the express purpose of using him as a cutout to leak classified information to the press for political purposes. Fire him and send in the next one.
Can I get 4K HGTV back via my ATT plan perk now?
Don’t bother arguing with these losers. Arguing with fascists gives them fuel and drains your energy. Use that energy to change something instead, even if it’s only just your own mind.
Olive, I am not a loser. You are a bully.
-Barb
Using NG troops should be the very last resort and only if there is direct violence against federal property or personnel.
I would strongly suggest that the Gov and the City of Chicago keep protesters under control and have them limited to specific areas in order to stop any potential for such violence.