The state of Illinois and city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over its decision to send National Guard troops to the city to curb protests and violence against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Sunday slammed the administration for its immigration enforcement operations in his state. He blasted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s contention that the city had become a “war zone” and pointed the finger at federal agents. During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Noem “doesn’t know what she’s talking about” and pointed out that Chicago residents opposed ICE’s presence in the city.
From CNN:
The lawsuit opens a new front in the legal battles the White House is waging against state and local officials, coming just hours after a federal judge blocked a similar deployment of the guard to Portland, Oregon.
“Defendants’ deployment of federalized troops to Illinois is patently unlawful,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiffs ask this court to halt the illegal, dangerous, and unconstitutional federalization of members of the National Guard of the United States, including both the Illinois and Texas National Guard.”
The lawsuit comes two days after the White House announced President Donald Trump authorized sending 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to Chicago to “protect federal officers and assets,” reprising a strategy he first used against anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
News of the deployment was condemned by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who said he refused to call up the National Guard after the Trump administration demanded he do so. On Sunday – after learning the administration also planned to send 400 members of the Texas National Guard to Illinois and Oregon, among other places – Pritzker likened the move to an “invasion.”
The lawsuit asks the court to order the administration to stop federalizing or deploying any National Guard troops to Illinois, and to declare the federalization of National Guard troops more broadly as unlawful. Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are among the defendants named.
HERE is where federal deployment of troops to localities IS CONSTITUTIONAL.
— MajToure999 (@MajToure999) October 6, 2025
Anything outside of that and catching people who “unlawfully” are in the country is going in “authoritarian lane.”
Either way, this whole thread going back a few posts gives a robust breakdown.
Y’all… https://t.co/pC7KRpFQeg pic.twitter.com/WsKbqlmdsI
The legal complaint claims the White House’s “deployment of federalized troops to Illinois is patently unlawful,” and requested that the court “halt the illegal, dangerous, and unconstitutional federalization of members of the National Guard of the United States, including both the Illinois and Texas National Guard.”
The White House slammed Pritzker for defying Trump’s order to deploy the National Guard. Spokesperson ABigail Jackson said, “Chicago is descending into lawlessness and chaos because this slob cares more about boosting his anti-Trump creds on X than he does about making his city safe.”
She added, “Pritzker should be ashamed of himself.”
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