A coalition of South Side leaders is pushing back on President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy federal troops and additional immigration agents to Chicago, warning that the move would endanger residents rather than keep them safe.
“We do not want Trump sending military troops of any kind into our city. That will not make us safer,” said Asha Ransby-Sporn, a local activist, during a rally at Daley Plaza last week. Ransby-Sporn has been a prominent advocate of the city’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement program, which sends crisis intervention specialists instead of police to mental health crisis calls.
She called the prospect of troops patrolling the streets of Chicago, particularly in Black communities, an “unnecessary, racist occupation” that serves to criminalize its residents.
The protest came as Chicago and Illinois leaders prepared for what could be a large-scale federal immigration enforcement operation as soon as this Friday. The effort is expected to involve hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, with the possibility of National Guard forces in support roles.
The Sun-Times reported last week that the Naval Station Great Lakes, located in north suburban Lake County, will host agents from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CBP during September. In response, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order this past Saturday instructing city agencies and police not to collaborate with federal agents on patrols, arrests or civil immigration enforcement.
“We may see militarized immigration enforcement. We may also see National Guard troops. We may even see active-duty military and armed vehicles in our streets,” Johnson said before signing the order. “We have not called for this. Our people have not asked for this, but nevertheless, we find ourselves having to respond to this.”
On Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference that state, county or local authorities had received almost no communication from the White House on their plans in recent weeks, but that CBP’s Gregory Bovino told the Illinois State Police over the weekend that “ICE would be deploying to Chicago.”
“It’s the first outreach we have received from the Trump administration on this topic,” he said.
Pritzker said if Trump truly cared about the safety of Illinoisans, he would release federal funds for violence prevention programs “that have proven to work.”
“It’s an insult to any and every citizen to suggest that any governor should have to beg the president of any political party for resources owed their people,” he said.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined Johnson and Pritzker in condemning Trump’s plan.
“There is no emergency in Chicago that warrants deploying the National Guard,” Preckwinkle said. “The streets of Chicago belong to the residents of Chicago. They do not belong to federal troops. They do not belong to those who would use intimidation and violence as tools of political oppression.”
Local state Sen. Robert Peters (D-13th) shared similar sentiments during last week’s rally, telling the crowd that the president’s policies have only exacerbated existing public safety issues.
“This is an administration that wants to cut and take away from working class, Black or brown communities, and then spend millions and billions funding a war machine to bring troops into our communities, and that’s not going to keep us safe,” he said, referring to the Medicaid and SNAP cuts in Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill, which passed in early July. “We know what’s going to keep us safe. People need health care. People need food on their table. People need a roof over their head.”
Peters, who is running for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District seat that is being vacated by Rep. Robin Kelly, called Trump a “dangerous, corrupt, shady president” and warned that Chicagoans must resist what he described as authoritarianism.
“Whether you’re an immigrant, you’re Black, you’re trans — you’re an American, and we will have your back. No dictator-a– motherf—– like Donald Trump is going to stand in the way,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Other speakers urged Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke to publicly refuse cooperation with the federal government, such as by agreeing not to prosecute protesters or those arrested unlawfully by federal troops.
“We call on the State’s Attorney to join other government officials and pledge not to enable racist attacks from the federal administration that will unnecessarily criminalize Chicago communities,” said Jasmine Smith, co-chair of the Woodlawn-based Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression.
But in a statement released by the governor’s office last week, O’Neill Burke joined more than a dozen Illinois elected officials in rejecting Trump’s Chicago military deployment plans. Federal intervention in the city’s public safety efforts, she argued, “will never result in a deviation from our core mission of following the law and representing all victims of crime in Cook County.”
Trump has repeatedly targeted Chicago in statements in recent weeks, describing the city as a “killing field” and threatening to intervene if state and local leaders do not address crime. On his social media platform Monday, he called Pritzker “weak and pathetic” and warned the governor to “straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!”
Local leaders have countered that Chicago has seen steep declines in violence this year. Although at least 54 people were shot over Labor Day weekend, including seven fatally, homicides are down more than 31%, hijackings nearly 50% and shootings about 37% compared to last year, according to the mayor’s office’s Violence Reduction Dashboard. Still, the number of murders in Chicago this year — at least 274 as of press time — outstrips both New York and Los Angeles, which both have much larger populations.
Organizers at Daley Plaza said militarizing the streets would undo that progress and put residents at risk.
“Safety comes from the ground up, from investing in individuals, families and communities so that everyone has what they need to thrive,” said Marlon Chamberlain, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments. “What we don’t need is threats, fear or tanks.”
Other speakers vowed to hold “know your rights” training in case troops and federal agents do arrive. Richard Wallace, executive director of Equity and Transformation, said lessons from Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles show how National Guard forces might act in Chicago.
“We’ve got to let our people know exactly what’s going on and how to protect themselves,” Wallace said.
Ledell Hayes, director of operations for the Woodlawn-headquartered Nickolas Lee Foundation and a veteran, said that if members of the military do come to Chicago, they must remember their sworn oaths.
“You take an oath to protect the people and the Constitution,” she said. “The National Guard needs to remember that they are the people as well, and they should be standing with the people, not against the people.”
