(NewsNation) — The State of Illinois and City of Chicago are suing the Trump administration over the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago, a day after President Donald Trump said he would send 300 military troops to Chicago from the Illinois National Guard, NewsNation has confirmed.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, names Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and others as defendants. Also named in the lawsuit are Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Daniel Driscoll, Secretary of the Army.
“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 complaint reads.
In a social media post on Monday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote that “Illinois is taking the Trump administration to court for their ‘unlawful and unconstitutional’ deployment of military troops in our state.”
Hegseth called for the federalization of up to 300 Illinois National Guard troops, and on Sunday called for another 400 members of the Texas National Guard to also be sent to Chicago.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed that Trump was planning on federalizing the National Guard troops for deployment to Chicago. She told the Associated Press that “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” is ongoing in Chicago that local leaders have not addressed.
“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” Jackson said.
Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul are scheduled to speak about the response to Trump’s orders at a news conference on Monday afternoon.
Chicago Mayor issues executive order related to recent ICE activity
Johnson issued his third executive order related to the presence of federal officers during a news conference on Monday.
The “ICE Free Zone” creates clear mechanisms to prohibit federal immigration officers and agents from using any city-owned property” as part of Operation Midway Blitz, which began on Sept. 8. The new order builds on Johnson’s “Protecting Chicago” initiative, which invites local businesses and community organizations to collaborate with elected officials to safeguard Chicago communities.
DHS officials announced last week that the agency has made more than 900 arrests during the multi-agency operation, which has sparked protests around Chicago and near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in suburban Broadview.
Last week, 300 federal agents and officers raided an apartment building in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, where DHS said 37 people had been taken into custody. Among those detained were two suspected members of the Tren de Aragua prison gang, officials said.
“We will not tolerate ICE agents violating our residents’ constitutional rights, nor will we allow the federal government to disregard our local authority. ICE agents are detaining elected officials, tear-gassing protestors, children, and Chicago police officers, and abusing Chicago residents. We will not stand for that in our city,” Johnson said in a statement issued by his office.
Under the order, city departments and agencies are directed to implement the executive order within five days. This could include, but is not limited to, ensuring that, wherever possible, physical barriers such as locked gates are used to limit access to City property for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement.
This is a breaking story. NewsNation will update as more information becomes available.
