President Donald Trump’s administration plans to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said Saturday, calling the move “outrageous and un-American.”
Pritzker said the Pentagon notified Illinois officials that the troops would be called into federal service but did not specify their mission or destination. Trump has previously threatened to deploy troops to Chicago as part of his broader law enforcement initiatives.
“This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Pritzker said. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
The action follows similar federal deployments in cities including Baltimore, Memphis, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Pritzker called the move a “manufactured performance” that distracts from local cooperation between state, county, and municipal law enforcement, who have been securing ICE’s Broadview detention facility near Chicago. Thirteen protesters were arrested there Friday amid intensified immigration enforcement.
Trump’s latest mobilization mirrors prior efforts in Oregon, where federalized National Guard units trained for possible deployment to Portland following unrest. Legal challenges are ongoing in federal court to limit the administration’s authority to override state control of the Guard.
Sources:
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
