J.B. Pritzker: Donald Trump Brought the Militarized ICE and CBP Agents to Chicago ‘to Cause Violence and Chaos’

PRITZKER: “The state of Illinois filed a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump‘s unlawful and unwarranted plans to deploy armed military troops to Chicago. There is no invasion here. There is no insurrection here. And local and state law enforcement are on the job and managing what they need to. Without my permission and against my vigorous objections, the president has federalized 300 Illinois National Guard military troops and hundreds of National Guard members from Texas, and he has ordered them to activate for duty in Illinois. I have called upon Governor Abbott to immediately withdraw his support for this decision and refuse to allow Texas National Guard members to be used in this way. Let me be clear: Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation‘s cities. I want to thank Attorney General Kwame Raoul and his staff, along with my general counsel Ann Spillane and our excellent governor‘s office legal team, for working tirelessly for weeks now to prepare federal lawsuits in anticipation of this unconstitutional invasion of Illinois by the federal government. For weeks now, Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and Gregory Bovino have brought their militarized CBP and ICE agents to the streets of Chicago to cause violence and chaos in this city. They need to stop inciting our city‘s residents. Since the beginning of this invasion, families have been snatched up off the streets or removed from their homes, zip-tied and detained for hours, including especially U.S. citizens and legal residents of our state. And in the words of CBP chief patrol agent Greg Bovino, they‘re being chosen by how they look. Peaceful protesters have been hit with tear gas and shot with rubber bullets.”