President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard members to Chicago on Saturday to protect federal officers and property, as the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Border Patrol agents shot and injured a woman during a confrontation on the city’s southwest side.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the president approved the deployment in response to what she described as “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders had not controlled.
“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” Jackson said.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, criticized the decision, calling it unnecessary and politically motivated. He said the Pentagon informed him of the move early Saturday.
“This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Pritzker said in a statement. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
The timing and specific locations of the Guard’s deployment were not immediately clear.
Federal Shooting Incident
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Border Patrol agents were “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars” before agents exited their vehicle and fired “defensively” at a suspect who allegedly tried to run them over.
A DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said the woman who was shot, identified as Marimar Martinez, was armed with a semiautomatic weapon and had been mentioned in a Customs and Border Protection intelligence bulletin last week alleging she had posted personal information about agents online.
Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was treated for her injuries and later taken into FBI custody, DHS said. A second suspect, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, was also apprehended. No federal officers were seriously injured, according to McLaughlin.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed that officers responded to the scene but said the department “is not involved in the incident or its investigation.” Federal officials are leading the inquiry.
Federal and Local Reaction
In an interview Sunday on Fox & Friends, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described Chicago as “a war zone” and said protesters were being paid to disrupt federal operations. “Our intelligence indicates these people are organized and making plans to ambush and kill them,” she said. “Somebody is funding them.”
Gov. Pritzker said the federal deployment would pull National Guard members away from their families and civilian jobs. “For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control,” he said.
He added that state, county, and city law enforcement agencies had already been coordinating to secure the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, near Chicago, where 13 protesters were arrested Friday during demonstrations.
Broader Federal Deployments
The move in Chicago comes amid a broader expansion of federal law enforcement activity across several states. National Guard troops have previously been sent to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., as part of federal security operations.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom sued to block the use of Guard troops in Los Angeles, arguing the deployment violated federal law. A federal judge temporarily halted the order, though the Trump administration has appealed. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has suggested the government may ultimately prevail.
Tennessee National Guard members are also expected to arrive in Memphis to assist local police.
Portland Deployment Blocked
Trump had also announced plans to send federal troops to Portland, Oregon, citing violent unrest. But local officials said many of the images he used to justify that claim appeared to date from 2020, during nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Oregon officials sued to block the deployment, and U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order Saturday halting the move. Immergut said the order would remain in effect pending further arguments, as the lawsuit alleges that the deployment would violate both the U.S. Constitution and a federal law limiting military involvement in domestic law enforcement.
The Trump administration has federalized about 200 National Guard troops in Oregon, though none have entered Portland. They have been seen training along the coast in anticipation of a possible deployment.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.