Pritzker Says Trump’s Chicago Crackdown Could Begin This Weekend; City Prepares to Push Back

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned this week that the Trump administration could begin a federal crackdown in Chicago as early as this weekend, saying the National Guard would be “assembled, ready to go” by Friday and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would expand operations beginning Saturday. City officials, community groups and residents have mobilized plans to resist and to advise residents of their rights as federal and local leaders brace for a confrontation.

The White House has offered few specifics about what a National Guard presence in Chicago would entail or when a deployment would begin. President Donald Trump told reporters he intends to send troops, saying “We’re going in,” but declined to provide a timeline. Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters there were “no immediate plans” following the president’s remarks. The uncertainty has not slowed preparations by Illinois and Chicago officials or by community organizers who say they are ready to respond if federal forces arrive.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an executive order over the weekend directing city departments to coordinate legal, logistical and civil-defense preparations. Gov. Pritzker has publicly pledged to “hold the line,” saying state officials will resist what he characterized as an overreach that risks infringing residents’ civil liberties. City and state leaders say federal authorities informed them that guard units would be staged and that ICE would increase activity, but officials have said they have not been given a full operational plan.

Community leaders, immigrant-rights groups, churches, schools and neighborhood organizations have circulated guidance for residents about encounters with immigration agents and law enforcement, organized legal hotlines and coordinated protest schedules. Organizers said Wednesday that activist networks were prepared to demonstrate within hours of any federal action and that they planned a visible presence in immigrant, Black and Latino neighborhoods where residents fear disproportionate enforcement.

Local law enforcement officials said they had been in touch with federal partners but stressed they had not received a detailed federal operational order. The prospect of a federal deployment has raised legal questions: a federal court recently ruled that a similar National Guard mission in Los Angeles was illegal, a decision that Democratic city leaders have cited in arguing that federal intervention in urban policing exceeds constitutional bounds and federal authority.

President Trump cited a surge in shootings over the Labor Day weekend — when Chicago recorded eight homicides and about 50 people wounded in dozens of shootings — as justification for a heightened federal role. Trump has repeatedly framed Chicago as emblematic of national crime problems, calling the city the “MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!” on social media as he pushed for a combined immigration and security operation. City officials and many Democrats have disputed the president’s characterization, noting long-term trends and year-to-date homicide totals. Chicago recorded 573 homicides last year, roughly 21 per 100,000 residents, a figure officials point out is lower than in some other U.S. cities and down from 2020.

The clash between federal and local officials comes amid broader debates over immigration enforcement, the role of the military or National Guard in domestic law enforcement and local control of policing. Gov. Pritzker said he would pursue legal and political avenues to block what he described as an unconstitutional deployment, and Chicago leaders said they were preparing legal challenges if federal forces were used to carry out policing functions.

City agencies have focused on rapid-response measures for residents they expect to be directly affected: distributing know-your-rights materials in multiple languages, bolstering legal-aid networks, alerting school and health systems and coordinating with faith-based groups to provide safe spaces and information. Police officials said they would continue routine public safety operations and work with community leaders on de-escalation and outreach.

Organizers said they expected a heightened media presence and planned to use demonstrations to draw attention to both the human impact of any enforcement sweep and to broader demands for public-safety investments and community-based violence prevention. Some legal experts have said federal agents can carry out immigration enforcement but that using troops for routine policing could trigger constitutional and statutory limits.

City and state leaders said they would keep residents informed and ready. Federal officials have not released a schedule or operational details beyond what administration officials have said publicly; the lack of formal announcements has left many plans contingent on developments that could change rapidly.

As the weekend approached, Chicago’s leaders emphasized preparedness on multiple fronts: legal challenges, community support networks, public messaging and plans for peaceful protest. The immediate next steps will likely hinge on whether the administration follows through with the staging Pritzker described and whether federal authorities issue a formal deployment order outlining roles and rules of engagement.