DHS Requests 100 Troops to Protect ICE

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the Department of War requesting the deployment of 100 troops to Illinois to protect ICE personnel and facilities. Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard has been notified but it is unclear what type of troops would be sent or when they would arrive. The request follows a surge in immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area that officials say involved more than 500 arrests and came after armed Border Patrol agents patrolled downtown. Those operations sparked protests at the Broadview ICE processing facility where officers used tear gas and flash‑bangs, and local leaders including Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have publicly opposed the federal presence as unnecessary and unwelcome. Local authorities are investigating reports of excessive force and detentions of U.S. citizens, and Pritzker has said a majority of those detained had no criminal convictions. The Department of Homeland Security could not be immediately reached for comment, and local officials say details about the deployment and arrest numbers remain unclear.