(NewsNation) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has not yet received word about the Trump administration’s plans to send federal immigration enforcement officers and agents to Chicago after Labor Day, which the Democrat on Friday called “offensive.”
But the lack of official notice from the White House about what is expected to be a multi-agency federal deployment to Chicago after Labor Day isn’t stopping state and city officials from devising a strategy to maintain peace and prevent chaos from taking over city streets, Chicago’s police superintendent said this week.
On Thursday, White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed that “a large contingent” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be sent to Chicago. Homan said that he would not disclose how many resources would be sent. The New York Times reported late Thursday that 200 Homeland Security officials would be sent.
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The report, citing a draft report on the use of Naval Station Great Lakes near the Illinois-Wisconsin border, indicated that space for 250 department personnel had been requested. In addition, the plan asked for a tactical operations center and an incident command post, bathrooms, laundry facilities, parking for 140 vehicles and storage space for medical supplies and weapons including rubber bullets and tear gas.
On Friday, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said he had no updates on Chicago, but said that the Trump administration is committed to the eradication of organized street violence across the country.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller speaks to reporters outside the White House, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Using the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., as an example, Miller said Trump is “proud to be using federal law enforcement and our National Guard to make this city safe and peaceful for Americans.”
However, Miller, without providing specifics on what is planned for Chicago, said cities that have “sanctuary” policies in place are the jurisdictions Trump is targeting for large-scale operations. On Thursday, Homan said New York City, Portland and Seattle could all be in play for similar post-Labor Day federal law enforcement operations, along with Chicago.
Pritzker said Friday that plans for the upcoming operation in Chicago have little to do with law enforcement, but rather about Trump’s efforts “to invade” Democrat-led cities including Chicago.
“A U.S. president invading an American city with troops …. I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Pritzker said. “It shouldn’t happen. You call up the National Guard when you have an emergency. There is no emergency here.”
However, Pritzker acknowledged that should the operation focus on immigration enforcement, as has been reported, there is little state and city officials can do to prevent DHS officers and agents from being deployed to Chicago.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker speaks as he takes a Chicago water taxi from Michigan Avenue stop, on the way to a press conference in Chicago, Illinois, on August 25, 2025. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Chicago was among the first places Homan postured toward after Trump took office. During a two-day enforcement operation just a week after the inauguration, ICE officers made more than 1,300 arrests of migrants, which Homan on Thursday said included the removal of seven child predators.
During that operation, Pritzker said Friday that ICE officers were “literally scaring the heck” out of residents in Chicago’s Hispanic communities. Pritzker compared Trump’s plans to federal deployment to Los Angeles this summer.
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A source with direct knowledge of plans for the Chicago operation told NewsNation the Los Angeles deployment is the blueprint for what could be coming to Chicago as early as late next week.
“The intentions here are clear,” Pritzker said Friday. “Nothing to do with actually enforcing the law, nothing to do with actually keeping the peace. They want to inflame something. That’s what they want.”
What Chicago planning could look like
Pritzker said that Chicago will prepare for possible deployment of troops and possible protests similar to what the city did ahead of the Democratic National Convention last summer.
The governor said Friday that the Chicago Police Department is working in conjunction with the Illinois State Police and civilian law enforcement at the federal and state levels. On Thursday, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said that should Trump send ICE officers or federalize the National Guard, all Chicago Police Department officers will be required to wear uniforms that clearly identify them.
Snelling said that his department will not interfere with the work of federal immigration enforcement officers and agents and will not prevent them from doing their job. However, he made it clear that officers would not cooperate with immigration enforcement, which is prohibited under the Illinois Trust Act.
“If we know that it’s only immigration enforcement going on, our officers will not be in those areas assisting in any way when it comes to immigration enforcement,” Snelling said.
Like Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said that his office has not received official word from the Trump administration about any federal deployment of troops. In a statement issued Thursday, Johnson said the reported operation “seems to be a rerun of (federal) tactics in Los Angeles.”
He added: “We reject any attempts that put Chicagoans in danger as a means of furthering the president’s political ends.”
Yet, as the city braces for an operation that could begin within a week, Snelling said his department’s top priority is providing protection to Chicago residents and to “maintain peace in the city and make sure we’re not stoking fears through the neighborhoods and we don’t have people running scared and it doesn’t create chaos on our streets.”
