CHICAGO (WLS) — On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action to prevent President Donald Trump from placing the National Guard under federal control and deploying them.
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“Americans shouldn’t have to fear a military presence in their communities, especially not as a result of political disagreements,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul in the complaint.
Illinois and Chicago’s lawsuit highlights the concern that Trump’s plan to send the National Guard into various states is unsettling the established boundary between the military and civilian life.
The lawsuit requests a federal court to prevent the activation and deployment of the National Guard to Illinois, citing the action is motivated by political disfavor rather than need.
“Illinois faces neither insurrection nor rebellion. The federal government can enforce laws here without militarizing the state. This crisis, as portrayed, is without basis,” they argue in their detailed complaint.
The legal representatives for Illinois and Chicago contend that Trump’s actions lack justification under federal law and contravene the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits military involvement in domestic policing.
“Defendants’ unlawful deployment of the Illinois National Guard, over the objection of the state, is similar to the unlawful course of conduct they have taken against other disfavored states and cities,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit cites Trump’s social media posts about sending militarized law enforcement to Chicago – including his “I love the smell of deportations in the morning” post – and his recent comments about using Democratic-led cities “as training grounds for our military.”
Mayor Johnson’s ‘ICE free zone’ executive order
On Monday, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order to prohibit “federal immigration authorities from using City-owned or controlled parking lots, vacant lots, and garages as staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases for civil immigration enforcement activities.”
The mayor’s office said in the order it would also distribute free official signage that private landowners can post on their property.
“The signage clearly states that no law enforcement official may enter for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement and that the property may not be used as a staging area, processing location, or operations base,” a spokesperson for the mayor said in a release.
The Chicago mayor’s office said it would also distribute free official signage that private landowners can post on their property to designate an “ICE free zone.”
Particiaption of placing signs up is voluntary, the mayor’s office said.
The order states that city departments must identify city properties that have been or could be used by immigration enforcement; post signage, use physical barriers ,such as locked gates, to restrict unauthorized access; immediately report any use of city property.
The executive order “does not limit or restrict the execution of lawful judicial warrants or legitimate criminal investigations. It applies only to civil immigration enforcement.”
This is a developing story.
An Illinois official on Sunday confirmed to ABC News that the Illinois National Guard has received an official notification from the Pentagon authorizing a mission in Chicago.
Governor JB Pritzker is set to host a news conference on Monday to address “the Trump Administration’s efforts to militarize American cities and the current state of federal deployments to Illinois.”
Pritzker says his office has not received any calls from the feds, and has remained adamant that the National Guard is not needed in the Chicago area.
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300 National Guard members will need a few days to mobilize and train before arriving to the city possibly by the end of the week, an Illinois official told ABC News.
Pritzker announced that 400 Texas National Guard members will also be deployed to multiple states across the country, including Illinois.
The governor is set to speak at 2 p.m. in Chicago on Monday.
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Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling will speak at 1 p.m. “regarding recent weekend events.”
On Saturday, a woman was shot by a federal agent on Chicago’s Southwest Side. Federal agents accused the woman of using her vehicles to strike another car, with three U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents inside.
ABC7 will livestream the news conference.
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ABC News contributed to this report.
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