Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Saturday that despite his repeated rejections for federal mobilization to Chicago, President Donald Trump will send in 300 National Guardsman as tensions between local leaders and the federal government heat up.
Pritzker said on social media posts that the Trump administration gave him an ultimatum: “call up your troops, or we will.”
“In the coming hours, the Trump Administration intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard,” the governor said.
A federal law enforcement agents confronts demonstrators from the turret of an armored vehicle during a protest outside an immigrant processing and detention center on Oct. 3, 2025, in Broadview, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the order during an interview with conservative host Benny Johnson Friday.
“I sent a request to [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth. Will be rolling in in the next 24 hours. I put a request in for them to Chicago,” Noem said adding that she also put in a request for Portland, Oregon.
The request came after law enforcement who were patrolling near the intersection of 39th Place and S. Kedzie Avenue in Chicago shot an unidentified “armed U.S. citizen” Saturday morning who was allegedly on Homeland Security’s radar, according to the top spokeswoman at DHS.
USBP Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro sector, Greg Bovino, stands on a street corner with federal agents after patrolling several tourist districts in the downtown area of Chicago, Sept. 28, 2025.
Jim Vondruska/Reuters
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, said in an X post that law enforcement were allegedly “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars,” which sparked a fight.
“Agents were unable to move their vehicles and exited the car. One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds,” McLaughlin said.
Noem said she was sending reinforcements to Chicago.
“I am deploying more special operations to control the scene. Reinforcements are on their way. If you see a law enforcement officer today, thank them,” she said in a statement.
Over the last month, Trump has threatened to send the National Guard into cities, particularly Democratic-run ones, to curb crime, and bolster immigration enforcement agents.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on the roof of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Ill., Oct. 3, 2025.
WLS
He deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., in August and the service members were sent to transit, parks and other areas.
“This country is a country of laws. If you don’t like the laws, go change them. We are enforcing them. That is sending a message to the whole world,” Noem told Johnson Friday.
Pritzker has not been shy about his opposition to Trump and his threats of federal deployment
“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 the protect public safety. For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control,” the governor said.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker speaks at the Georgia Democratic Party’s 2025 Carter-Lewis Dinner in Atlanta, Oct. 3, 2025. Pritzker was the keynote speaker at the event.
Erik S Lesser/EPA via Shutterstock
Prtizker slammed Noem and Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, who were in Illinois Friday observing ICE raids, for “unprecedented escalations of aggression against Illinois citizens and residents.”
During an alleged ICE encounter in Chicago Friday, border patrol agents appeared to deploy a chemical agent at people from a vehicle, according to video taken by bystanders that was reviewed by ABC News.
Andrew Denton told ABC News he witnessed the incident. Denton said he parked his car to get groceries when he heard a commotion, walked over and “saw a guy with a scooter blocking the white truck.”
“Nobody was being violent, just swearing and middle fingers being thrown. Then I noticed the ICE agents in the truck. They rolled the window down and threw the tear gas. My face was burning, tears rolling, and I was choking on the gas for about 10 minutes,” he said.
“Again, there was no reason to tear gas us. Nobody was protesting or anything. People were just annoyed by ICE being there,” Denton added.
DHS did not return messages to ABC News for comment about the incident.
Law enforcement detain a protester near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Ill., Oct. 3, 2025.
Erin Hooley/AP
In another incident during ICE activity on Friday, Chicago Ald. Jessie Fuentes said she was at Humboldt Park Health when she was handcuffed by an agent when she questioned them and asked for a warrant.
The administration touted its ICE efforts in Chicago.
Noem posted a produced video on X , which had action movie-style music and clips of agents making arrests.
“Chicago, we’re here for you,” Noem said in the post.
Prtizker criticized Noem, who has made several ads and social media posts of herself joining ICE raids, for her rhetoric.
“None of it was in pursuit of justice, but all of it was in pursuit of social media videos,” he said.
