Gov. JB Pritzker says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has sent a memo to the Department of Defense (DOD) requesting the deployment of 100 Illinois National Guard troops in Chicago. 

This follows months of uncertainty as President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to deploy federal troops to combat crime in the city, with no follow-up on the threats. At the same time, a Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility has seen weeks of protests, and downtown Chicago saw armed border patrol agents patrolling this past weekend.  

Pritzker said DHS made the request for troops to protect ICE agents and facilities, but there is not yet a timetable for when action could be taken.  

The president had recently appeared to roll back his plans to deploy troops in Chicago, saying he would instead focus on Memphis, where he’s less likely to receive pushback due to Tennessee’s Republican governor.  

But over the weekend, Trump announced he would federalize the Oregon National Guard in Portland, a move that appears to be in response to protests at an ICE facility. Oregon and Portland filed a lawsuit Sunday against Trump, DOD Sec. Pete Hegseth and DHS Sec. Kristi Noem requesting an immediate pause to the guard’s deployment.  

Pritzker said he’s been in contact with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and said that there was a similar memo issued before the Oregon National Guard was federalized.  

He said the State of Illinois and City of Chicago have received no official communication yet.  

Illinois leaders have repeatedly said that any attempt by the president to federalize the Illinois National Guard will result in legal action.  

“He's following the same pattern [in Illinois] that he followed in Oregon, and we just received a memo, the same steps that were followed in Oregon,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Monday. “The mobilization of the military isn't just an ineffective strategy to address crime, it is illegal.” 

Raoul said the memo is not enough to trigger legal action but said members of his office worked over the weekend to prepare. He said his office has been communicating with the Oregon Attorney General’s.   

Oregon’s lawsuit says the federalization of the guard is "patently unlawful,” arguing the action does not meet any of the requirements to federalize the guard and violates the Tenth Amendment.   

The National Guard can only be deployed in three capacities: State Active Duty status, Title 32 status, and Title 10 status. 

State Active Duty Status is invoked by the state governor, under which the National Guard is deployed under state law.  

Title 32 status is invoked when the National Guard is used by the federal government with the consent of the state’s governor. Kotek did not consent to the use of the national guard for this purpose.  

Title 10 status is the federalization of the National Guard. This is the status that Trump invoked when he deployed the guard. The lawsuit argues that the president did not meet legal requirements to invoke Title 10, which state that there must be rebellion, insurrection or invasion to federalize the guard.  

They argue the protests at the ICE Facility have been small, with no more than 30 people at a time, and have not led to any arrests since June. 

“But Defendants’ heavyhanded deployment of troops threatens to escalate tensions and stokes new unrest, meaning more of the Plaintiffs’ law enforcement resources will be spent responding to the predictable consequences of Defendants’ action,” the lawsuit says.  

The lawsuit says Oregon police can manage the protests and there is no need for assistance from the National Guard, who are prohibited from acting as law enforcement when federalized.  

It’s that clause that is at the basis of a lawsuit between Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in which Newsom sued the president over the federalization of the guard in California. The judge in the case issued a temporary decision ordering the troops be repealed because they had acted as law enforcement.   

The trial over that suit concluded in August but a decision has not yet been made.  

Pritzker criticized border patrol agents' actions over the weekend, which included the detainment of an independent journalist and a CBS Chicago journalist having chemical munitions fired at her car.  

The governor also claimed most detainees had no prior criminal record.   

“This is about sowing fear and intimidation and division among Americans,” Pritzker said. “It was about creating a pretext to send armed military troops into our communities. This is about consolidating power in Donald Trump's hands.”