Trump Administration Requests Troop Deployment To Chicago Amid Immigration Enforcement Rise

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced that President Donald Trump's administration has requested the Pentagon to send 100 troops to Illinois amid escalating conflicts involving federal immigration agents in Chicago and its suburbs. The Illinois National Guard received a memo from the Department of Homeland Security about this request, though specific details about the type of troops have not been clarified. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have both opposed the deployment, emphasizing protection for immigrant and undocumented communities, and criticizing the federal immigration enforcement as a pretext for military involvement. Federal agents have appeared masked in downtown Chicago, defying a local executive order, and have detained hundreds of immigrants, highlighting the limitations of local authority against presidential actions. The Trump administration's intensified immigration efforts in Chicago are partly due to the city's ordinance barring city employees from assisting federal immigration enforcement, with President Trump aiming to deport record numbers of undocumented immigrants. Mayor Johnson condemned the deportation campaign as harsh and dangerous, likening it to historical injustices.