The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to approve the deployment of National Guard soldiers in Chicago, where persistent protests outside local immigration facilities have disrupted operations.
'Federal agents are forced to desperately scramble to protect themselves and federal property, allocating resources away from their law enforcement mission to conduct protective operations instead.'
The administration planned to mobilize approximately 500 National Guard troops from Texas and Illinois to the Chicago area for at least 60 days. The deployment was intended to protect federal agents and facilities as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers face a 1000% increase in assaults, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Last week, an appeals court blocked the deployment in response to a lawsuit filed by Illinois against the administration.
Meanwhile, protests continue to regularly gather outside an ICE facility in Broadview. On Friday, demonstrators clashed with Illinois State Police. Fifteen individuals were detained.
U.S. District Judge April Perry, who issued a temporary restraining order on October 9 preventing the mobilization of troops, stated that she did not find evidence that a "danger of rebellion" exists.
"The unrest Defendants complain of has consisted entirely of opposition (indeed, sometimes violent) to a particular federal agency and the laws it is charged with enforcing," Perry wrote, adding that it does not amount to "opposition to the authority of the federal government as a whole."
Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in a Friday appeal that the ruling "intrudes on the president's authority and needlessly puts federal personnel and property at risk."
"Federal agents are forced to desperately scramble to protect themselves and federal property, allocating resources away from their law enforcement mission to conduct protective operations instead," the administration’s filing stated.
Sauer noted that federal officers have been repeatedly "threatened and assaulted" and that they "have been forced to operate under the constant threat of mob violence."
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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) responded to the administration's emergency filing in a post on social media.
"Donald Trump will keep trying to invade Illinois with troops — and we will keep defending the sovereignty of our state," Pritzker stated. "Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy. What will come next?"
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) similarly pledged to oppose President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts.
"Regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, we will continue to fight to end the war on Chicago," he wrote. "Through Know Your Rights information, executive orders, and partnerships with local organizations, we will pursue every avenue to protect Chicago from Trump's attacks."
"We will make the case that Chicago does not need or want National Guard troops on the streets of our city," Johnson added.
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Tensions are escalating between Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), and the Trump administration.
With Trump's White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller delivering strong remarks as of late and promising to rid American streets of crime, liberal cities have been put on notice that the federal government finally wants to put an end to the dangers of gang activity and criminality.
'Being a welcoming city means being a city that embraces people equally with open arms.'
Chicago has been known as a dangerous city for decades, but now that the feds are stepping in, Democrats are getting in the way. Chicago has a detailed history of supporting illegal immigrants on the municipal level. Here's how:
Chicago's sanctuary city status dates all the way back to 1985, when Mayor Harold Washington (D) signed an executive order that stated city workers could not ask people about their immigration status.
The city joined other liberal strongholds like Cambridge, Massachusetts; St. Paul, Minnesota; as well as California cities Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco, and Berkeley.
That year, an estimated 80,000 people from Guatemala and El Salvador lived in San Francisco.
In 2012, Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) all but officially made Chicago a sanctuary city with the Welcoming City Ordinance. Using careful terms, the ordinance implemented protections for illegal aliens "who have not been convicted of a serious crime and are not wanted on a criminal warrant."
Ironically, Emanuel said the city was "welcoming those who play by the rules," but forced Chicago police to train with "immigrant advocacy groups to build trust within immigrant communities."
The ordinance is still promoted today, with Chicago boasting that it prohibits city employees from assisting in the investigation of a person's immigration status, absent a federal or court order.
RELATED: Texas National Guard deployed to Chicago amid increasing left-wing violence
In 2021, Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) updated the Welcoming City Ordinance to target police activity and even limit their ability to assist in federal investigations.
According to the Chicago Police Department, the update declared that police could no longer detain, arrest, or hold anyone based on their immigration status or civil immigration warrants. It also prevented police from transferring criminals into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for immigration enforcement.
The update even removed the use of the word "citizen" from official city forms, replacing it with "person" or "resident."
"Being a welcoming city means being a city that embraces people equally with open arms, where no one has to fear being their authentic self, walking down the street, doing business, earning a living and taking care of their family," the mayor said at the time, per ABC 7.
In January 2025, Chicago's city council voted 39-11 to prevent a vote on allowing police to cooperate with federal authorities in apprehending individuals accused of certain crimes.
Police would have been allowed to work with ICE in relation to gang-related activities such as intimidation, loitering, and recruitment; drug dealing; prostitution; and sex crimes involving minors.
The measure was tabled, though, and Mayor Johnson supported the decision with the claim Chicago emphasizes community safety and trust.
That same month, Mayor Johnson launched an informational campaign for illegal immigrants to "Know Your Rights."
Written in foreign languages like Spanish and Chinese, the city targeted public transit with ads to help illegal residents know their way around legal situations.
Mayor Johnson said he was rejecting intimidation tactics from the Trump administration and reaffirmed that Chicago would remain a "welcoming and sanctuary space."
Mayor Johnson asked President Biden in 2024 to help him secure work permits for illegal aliens in Chicago.
This was one of Johnson's priorities on the first anniversary of taking office. Johnson worked with activist groups to attempt to extend permits to those who the city claimed have paid taxes in the U.S. for decades, not new arrivals.
While it was unclear whether the taxes referred to sales taxes or income tax paid through fraudulent identities, Johnson said he wanted to "extend the same economic opportunities to our long-term undocumented brothers and sisters."
Thankfully, his bid was unsuccessful.
Chicago and Illinois sued the Trump administration just this week over plans to deploy the National Guard to the city. The "deployment of federalized troops to Illinois is patently unlawful," the lawsuit stated, per CNN.
The plaintiffs further asked the court to put a stop to the "illegal, dangerous, and unconstitutional federalization of members of the National Guard of the United States, including both the Illinois and Texas National Guard."
Trump deployed 400 troops from the Texas National Guard to Chicago recently, as ICE agents have been under attack during ongoing protests and riots outside ICE facilities. The lawsuit also asked the court to declare the federalization of National Guardsmen illegal.
President Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth were all named as defendants.
Stunningly, Mayor Johnson announced "ICE-free zones" in October 2025, allegedly aimed at "reining in" the Trump administration.
"The order establishes ICE-free zones. That means that city property and unwilling private businesses will no longer serve as staging grounds for [ICE] raids," the mayor claimed.
Johnson said ICE agents would not be allowed to "rampage" through the city. The mayor also said he wished to strengthen Chicago's role as a "welcoming city."
The mayor claimed the move was in reaction to ICE using Chicago Public Schools' parking lots as staging sites for enforcement operations, though whether federal immigration agents have used schools during operations is unclear.
In remarks to Blaze News, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that Mayor Johnson's demonization of ICE agents has increased assaults against them by "1,000%."
She added, "Mayor Johnson has shown time and time again he does not care about the safety of our federal law enforcement officers or Chicagoans. ... His reckless policies not only endanger our law enforcement, but public safety."
Blaze News has reached out to Johnson's office for comment.
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President Donald Trump launched a law enforcement surge in Illinois this week to crack down on illegal immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security explained that “Operation Midway Blitz” was named in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old who was killed in January in a hit-and-run drunk driving accident caused by a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala.
‘That’s not war; that’s common sense.’
“This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” the DHS wrote in a social media post. “President Trump and Secretary Noem stand with the victims of illegal alien crime while Governor Pritzker stands with criminal illegal aliens.”
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The Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement has focused its efforts on clamping down on sanctuary jurisdictions that protect criminal illegal aliens. This new option targets individuals in Illinois, including Chicago, a sanctuary city.
“In an ICE-led operation, we are here to remove these dangerous public safety threats from American communities,” ICE remarked.
Trump slammed Pritzker for stating he does not want help from the federal government to end violent crime in Chicago.
“6 people were murdered in Chicago this weekend, 12 others were shot, and in serious condition. This would mean that over the past number of weeks, approximately 50 people were killed, and hundreds were shot, many expected to die. Governor Pritzker just stated that he doesn’t want Federal Government HELP! WHY???” Trump questioned. “I want to help the people of Chicago, not hurt them. Only the Criminals will be hurt! We can move fast and stop this madness. The City and State have not been able to do the job. People of Illinois should band together and DEMAND PROTECTION. IT IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE!!! ACT NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!”
Trump posted an apparent AI-generated photo on Truth Social showing himself, the Chicago skyline, a fire in the background, and helicopters overhead, with the words “Chipocalypse Now.”
“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
Pritzker pushed back on Trump’s claim that he wants to help the people of Chicago, citing the Truth Social post.
“‘I want to help people, not hurt them,’ says the guy who just threatened an American city with the Department of War,” the governor said.
RELATED: SCOTUS overrules lower court giving ICE a big win
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has also rejected Trump’s offers to help the city.
“The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” Johnson said. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”
When a reporter over the weekend asked Trump whether he was seeking to go to war with Chicago, the president corrected the record.
“We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities. We’re going to clean them up so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war; that’s common sense,” Trump declared.
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JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, had an ugly meltdown on Saturday about a meme shared by President Donald Trump. When a member of the liberal press took a page out of Pritzker's book and treated the meme as a threat, Trump leaned in with a reality check.
Days after Pritzker claimed that Trump is "neither wanted here nor needed here," Chicago suffered another bloody Labor Day weekend with at least eight killed and 58 wounded. According to police, America's rattiest city suffered 278 homicides as of Aug. 31.
Trump condemned the violence, warning Pritzker: "Better straighten it out, FAST, or we're coming."
Pritzker and other Democratic officials instead channeled their energies last week into condemning a possible federal intervention rather than meaningfully tackling the underlying issues.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, for instance, kicked things off by signing an executive order "denouncing any attempts to deploy the United States Armed Forces and/or the National Guard and/or militarized civil immigration enforcement in Chicago."
RELATED: This is what Brandon Johnson is blaming for Chicago's violent Labor Day weekend
Pritzker then concern-mongered on MSNBC, telling former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki that Trump's plan is "one that's been repeated over and over again by ... tyrannical dictatorships across history where you try to incite local population into some mayhem by sending in police or other disruptors, and then claim that there's too much mayhem on the ground, and therefore there must be troops that are sent in."
The Democratic governor, who held on tightly to emergency powers through the pandemic and well into 2023, suggested further that the aim of the plan, which has already neutralized most street crime in Washington, D.C., was to "convert a democracy into something other than that."
At the outset of another weekend marked by numerous fatal shootings in Chicago, Trump shared a meme titled "Chipocalypse Now" that features an AI image of himself as Colonel Bill Kilgore, the fictional commander of the 1st Cavalry Division in "Apocalypse Now," with the Chicago skyline as his backdrop.
Whereas Kilgore, played by Robert Duvall, states in film following an airstrike on potential enemy combatants along a nearby tree line, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," Trump's meme is captioned, "I love the smell of deportations in the morning."
Trump added, "Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR."
Pritzker characterized Trump's post as a legitimate threat, writing, "The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal."
"Donald Trump isn't a strongman, he's a scared man," continued Pritzker. "Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator."
— (@)
Pritzker subsequently disseminated guidance on how to handle encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for the apparent benefit of illegal aliens in his state, recommended that residents film federal operatives, and advanced the suggestion that the Trump administration's efforts to restore law and order constituted "atrocities."
Mayor Johnson also decided to interpret Trump's humorous post as a threat, noting, "The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution. We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump."
NBC News' Yamiche Alcindor joined Pritzker and Johnson in spinning the president's meme as a declaration of intent, asking Trump whether he was indeed "going to war with Chicago."
"Darling, that's fake news," said Trump.
When Alcindor began to argue the point, the president responded, "Be quiet. Listen. You don't listen. You never listen. That's why you're second rate."
"We're not going to war. We're going to clean up our cities," said Trump. We're going to clean them up so they don't kill five people every weekend. That's not war. That's common sense."
Trump further underscored on Sunday that he is simply keen on making American cities safe and beautiful.
"Chicago is a very dangerous place, and we have a governor who doesn't care about crime," Trump told reporters on Sunday. "We could solve Chicago very quickly."
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Blaze News in a statement, “Eight people were killed and over 50 people were wounded over Labor Day weekend in Chicago, but local Democrat leaders are more upset about a post from the president — that tells you everything you need to know about the Democrats' twisted priorities."
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