Trump says he's sending National Guard to Chicago as city braces for immigration crackdown

CHICAGO (WLS) -- President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will send in the National Guard to help fight crime in Chicago as the city braces for the administration's planned immigration crackdown in the area.

"Well, we're going in. I didn't say when; we're going in. When you lose -- look, I have an obligation. This isn't a political thing. I have an obligation," Trump said.

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At a mid-afternoon news conference with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and others, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he has learned that federal agents and military vehicles began staging Monday on nearby federal property, including Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago.

The naval station has been preparing to be the base of operations for more U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed plans for ramped-up immigration enforcement in Illinois over the weekend, but did not share specific details.

Pritzker said many of those agents have been relocated from ICE operations in Los Angeles and are planning immigration enforcement actions in Chicago, including in communities where Mexican Independence Day celebrations will be held this month.

The governor said on Saturday, a Trump administration official contacted the head of Illinois State Police, confirming ICE will be conducting operations in Chicago but offering few details. He said that is the first and only call the state has received from the Trump administration regarding their immigration enforcement plans.

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Pritzker also warned that ICE could target Mexican Independence Day celebrations.

Rodolfo Alvarez is with United Merchants of Pilsen Chamber of Commerce, which is organizing this Saturday's Mexican Independence Day Parade on 18th Street. He says dozens of volunteers will be there to be eyes and ears if agents arrive.

"We're going to have the people to try to spot them, and we can let the people behind marching to disband," Alvarez said.

Pritzker also said he has learned that members of the Texas National Guard have begun preparing for deployment in Illinois. The governor says there is no emergency and no need for the guard, despite a violent and deadly weekend in Chicago.

"The Trump plan is to use any excuse to deploy armed military personnel to Chicago. If someone flings a sandwich at an ICE agent, Trump will try to go on TV and declare an emergency in Chicago. I'm imploring everyone, if and when that happens, do not take the bait," Pritzker said.

Trump, from the White House, made it clear on Tuesday that the National Guard will be deployed to Chicago, once again calling the city a "hellhole." His comments came after a violent Labor Day weekend in the city in which at least 58 people were shot, eight of them killed.

Trump also wrote on Truth Social Tuesday morning, "Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far. Pritzker needs help badly, he just doesn't know it yet. I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again."

Pritzker and Johnson made it clear that the guard is not needed in Chicago and said it would be illegal to deploy them for local law enforcement reasons.

Their comments came hours after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration knowingly ordered National Guard troops and Marines to engage in law enforcement activity in Los Angeles that went beyond the limits allowed under law but did not order the remaining troops to leave.

In a letter to the president, Illinois congressional leaders reiterated that there is no emergency that warrants military officials in Chicago.

The letter states, in part, "The deployment of the U.S. military into American cities is not about safety or security. It is about control... We demand you suspend any plans for the deployment of military personnel to Chicago and cease your unlawful power grabs and Executive Branch overreach."

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But some Republican lawmakers from the Freedom Caucus say Democrats should welcome the guard after the violent holiday weekend in Chicago.

"Everybody in the state of Illinois including the residents of Chicago deserve to be safe," said state Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-45th District. "And it is our view that Governor Pritzker is playing politics to try to raise his profile for a presidential bid, rather than keeping the residents of the city of Chicago safe."

"Mayor Brandon Johnson, Governor Pritzker, and the Illinois Democrats have created a pro-crime, a pro-criminal environment. They've abandoned the victims, abandoned the police, and abandoned the people of Chicago," Chesney added.

Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin said, "I'm trying to understand why an American in uniform standing on a street corner trying to protect other Americans is a threat to anyone. I think it is a threat to those that have failed."

Meanwhile, military veterans and attorneys rallied at Federal Plaza on Tuesday. They called on Pritzker to protect National Guard troops and support military members amid Trump's threats.

"Guard and military members, you are not alone," U.S. Navy veteran Daniel Lakemacher said. "You are not alone in thinking this isn't what you signed up for. You are not alone in questioning whether it is moral, just, right, or in this case, even legal."

Trump on Tuesday repeatedly said that Pritzker should call him and that he would be happy to help with crime. The governor said that is not going to happen.

Already, local activists say they plan to stage peaceful protests on the day the guard arrives.