This comes as the Homeland Security Department said federal officers were rammed and fired upon near Chicago, as tensions rise over immigration enforcement.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said that the Trump administration plans to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard.
Pritzker accused Washington of attempting to escalate tensions amid ongoing clashes between protesters and federal agents in the Chicago area.
Pritzker said in an Oct. 4 statement that the Department of War issued him an ultimatum earlier in the day—either he mobilizes the state’s National Guard or the administration will do it directly.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,” Pritzker said. “They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance—not a serious effort to protect public safety. For [President] Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control.”
The statement followed violent confrontations in Broadview, near Chicago, where crowds of protesters have demonstrated against federal immigration enforcement operations for weeks.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Oct. 4 that its officers were “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars” during a patrol, prompting agents to fire at an armed driver identified in an earlier Customs and Border Protection intelligence bulletin. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said no law enforcement officers were seriously injured in the attack.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the attack and announced that “special operations” were being deployed to stabilize the scene. “If you see a law enforcement officer today, thank them,” she said in a statement.
The confrontation marked the latest escalation in an increasingly tense standoff between federal authorities and some states over “Operation Midway Blitz,” a federal immigration enforcement initiative launched on Sept. 8.
DHS said recently the operation has resulted in more than 800 arrests in Illinois, targeting individuals with criminal records, including sexual offenses and gang ties.
Pritzker has denounced the operation as unconstitutional, calling it “a pretext to send armed military troops into our communities.”
By Tom Ozimek
