About 500 National Guard troops were deployed near Chicago on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, under orders from President Donald Trump, despite objections from both the city’s mayor and the Illinois governor, who denounced the move as an unnecessary militarization of their city.
President Trump responded by calling for the imprisonment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker—though neither has been accused of any crime. Both officials have been vocal critics of Trump’s immigration policies and his decision to send National Guard troops into Democratic-leaning cities.
According to the National Guard, around 200 soldiers from Texas and 300 from Illinois were stationed in the Chicago area to “protect federal personnel and property,” including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
While Trump administration officials have described protests in cities such as Chicago and Portland as violent and chaotic, demonstrations against Trump’s immigration policies have largely been peaceful and modest in size—far from the “war zone” conditions the president has claimed.
Hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Chicago on Wednesday evening to oppose the troop deployment, voicing growing anger at what they see as the administration’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement in the region. Among the chants was a new slogan: “Todos somos Silverio” (“We are all Silverio”), referencing the fatal shooting of immigrant Silverio Villegas Gonzalez by ICE agents in a Chicago suburb last month.
Despite the unrest, downtown Chicago otherwise appeared calm, with regular commuter traffic and the sound of helicopters overhead—now a familiar sight since the federal incursions began in September. In predominantly Latino and Black neighborhoods, where ICE activity has been most visible, residents gathered outside homes and businesses to condemn the perceived mistreatment of their communities by federal officers.
Trump Calls for Arrest of Democratic Leaders
President Trump, who returned to office last year pledging to intensify immigration enforcement and target political rivals, accused Johnson and Pritzker of failing to protect immigration officers in the city.
“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect ICE Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump wrote on social media.
In response, Mayor Johnson defended his recent executive order declaring Chicago an “ICE Free Zone,” which bars federal immigration agents from using city facilities for operations.
“This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere,” Johnson said.
Governor Pritzker, widely viewed as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, also vowed to stand firm.
“Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?” he wrote.
Trump’s remarks come as another political opponent, former FBI Director James Comey, faces criminal charges—making him the first of Trump’s adversaries to be prosecuted after repeated calls from the president for the imprisonment of his critics.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, speaking at a White House event, claimed that federal officers in cities like Chicago and Portland were under “regular threat.”
“Any elected official that allows this to happen … should absolutely be prosecuted, in my opinion,” Noem said when Trump directed a reporter’s question about prosecuting Democratic leaders to her.
However, some official accounts of alleged threats to federal agents have been challenged. The attorney representing a woman shot by ICE agents said video evidence contradicts the government’s version of events, and police records related to the killing of Villegas Gonzalez also differ from the Department of Homeland Security’s account.
Legal Challenges Over Troop Deployments
Federal courts have already imposed limits on Trump’s controversial use of the National Guard in states that have not requested federal assistance. Still, Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to override court restrictions.
Two major legal tests are expected Thursday: a federal judge in Illinois will decide whether to block the National Guard’s deployment to Chicago, while a California appeals court will review Trump’s appeal concerning his troop deployment to Portland, which another federal judge halted over the weekend.
Meanwhile, another federal judge ruled that ICE violated a 2022 agreement restricting its ability to detain immigrants without warrants in several Midwestern states, a decision that could curb some of the agency’s more aggressive tactics since Trump’s return to power.
Amid ongoing court battles, Trump has hinted at expanding troop deployments to additional U.S. cities, calling them potential “training grounds” for the armed forces.
