WBEZ and The Chicago Sun-Times are answering your questions about immigration operations and National Guard deployments to the Chicago area.
President Donald Trump has activated the Illinois and Texas National Guards to deploy to the Chicago area. The administration says the troops will provide protect federal property and immigration agents who are carrying out Trump’s deportation campaign here. Illinois’ governor and Chicago’s mayor have denounced the deployments as an “invasion,” and are suing to block them.
We’re answering your questions about the deployments and immigration enforcement in Chicago (submit yours here). Here are some of the questions that are coming up the most.
How is it legal for the National Guard to just march into our city?
In justifying such deployments, the Trump administration has been citing the Insurrection Act, which was intended to deal with internal rebellion.
Many legal experts say this would be a nuclear option and that allowing federal troop deployment should only be implemented in an emergency.
Trump previously deployed troops to Los Angeles against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes by putting the California National Guard under federal jurisdiction. Newsom and the state of California sued, claiming federalizing the National Guard violated the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which generally prohibits using the military as law enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in California recently accused President Donald Trump of a “serious” violation of the law, though Breyer made it clear that his 52-page order applies only to Trump’s use of the National Guard in California.
Trump’s assertion of a “constitutional exception,” which claims “the president has inherent constitutional authority to protect federal property, federal personnel and federal functions,” was also rejected by Breyer.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling last week said National Guard members cannot arrest people in Chicago unless they are partnering with federal or local law enforcement.
Another unlikely possibility would involve Trump deploying to Chicago the D.C. National Guard, which he commands. This was done when President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard in 1963 to integrate the University of Alabama.
Can the Trump administration send federal immigration agents to the Naval Station Great Lakes for immigration operations?
Yes, though White House officials said plans to expand immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and other major cities are distinct from Trump’s threats to send the National Guard to combat violent crime.
When it comes to immigration enforcement, White House officials said the current immigration push is firmly in the president’s executive authority.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has confirmed a ramped-up post-Labor Day deportation campaign was in the works for Chicago with a “large contingent” of agents.
Last week the Sun-Times first reported that the Defense Department has secured Naval Station Great Lakes, about 35 minutes north of Chicago, for an immigration blitz in Chicago. And immigration agents are reportedly training there.
Base leaders were told the facility would be providing “support” in the form of office space for a command center for the operation that will last until Sept. 30.
If Trump does send the National Guard to Chicago, where will guard personnel be posted?
That’s unclear. In Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where the National Guard has been formally deployed, guard personnel have been stationed around federal buildings or on federal grounds.
Legal experts say even if Trump has the authority to federalize the Illinois National Guard, he doesn’t have the authority to send them into the streets to do ordinary law enforcement.
What can local leaders do to stop a National Guard deployment here?
Not much.
White House officials have said the operation in Chicago would mirror Los Angeles more than D.C. In L.A. thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of active-duty Marines were activated to quell protests against immigration operations.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has said the city still doesn’t know exactly what the Trump administration is planning.
On Saturday, Johnson signed an executive order barring the Chicago Police Department from helping federal authorities with civil immigration enforcement or any related patrols, traffic stops and checkpoints.
The initiative attempts to have federal law enforcement personnel adhere to municipal rules, such as preventing them from hiding their identities with masks, having body cameras turned on during interactions with the public and displaying identifying information such as badges and uniforms.
In a statement, Johnson said the order aligns with the “desires of the vast majority of Chicagoans, who continue to reject a military occupation of the city.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul claims that Trump sending National Guard members to Chicago would violate the Posse Comitatus Act.
“The Posse Comitatus Act limits the federal government’s ability to use the military for domestic law enforcement. None of the prerequisites for National Guard deployment exists here,” he told reporters earlier this month.
Can I take pictures or film the National Guard?
Yes, you can record law enforcement in a public space, as the First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech.
According to Illinois Legal Aid, people recording law enforcement should keep a reasonable distance and follow orders from officers, for example, stepping back or creating distance if asked. It is important not to directly interfere or interact with law enforcement activity.
During a news conference in Pilsen this week, Gov. Pritzkersaid his office wants to ensure that Chicago police officers and other local cops “are aware of what they’re doing, so they can make sure they’re not standing anywhere near those actions or assisting in those actions, but also being ready for protests that might occur.”
The governor also called on residents to record ICE activities “to keep them honest in doing the right thing.”
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How much could it cost to deploy National Guard troops here, and who would pay?
Deploying National Guard troops to Chicago could cost taxpayers nearly $1.6 million per day, according to a nonpartisan federal budget research organization.
The estimate is based on 3,000 troops potentially being sent to Chicago, though no official number has been made public.
The National Priorities Project, a research group that’s part of the progressive nonprofit Institute for Policy Studies, used a figure of $530 per Guard member per day, which was the estimated cost in 2020 when National Guard members were deployed to Washington, D.C., during protests following the death of George Floyd.
Taxpayers would bear the cost, but whether that money comes from the state or the federal budget depends on how they’re deployed. If the governor ordered a deployment – which Pritzker has said he will not do – the money would come from the state. If the guards fall under the control of the president, they’d get paid with federal dollars, said Katherine Kuzminski with the Center for a New American Security.
Are Chicago salt trucks being used to interfere with ICE?
No. Over the weekend of Sept. 6-7, the city put the salt trucks in Grant Park for public safety purposes during the Taste of Chicago festival and weekend protests.
How should I talk to my kids about what’s happening with immigration enforcement in Chicago?
It can be difficult to talk to children about the news, especially if it’s a subject like deportations.
Dr. Colleen Cicchetti, a child psychologist at Lurie Children’s Hospital, said kids often interpret the world by observing their parents’ emotions and behavior. She recommends being proactive, honest and age-appropriate when speaking with children.
“Parents need to kind of put themselves in their child’s shoes and think, ‘What are they seeing and feeling that I need to help them understand?’” Cicchetti said.
When it comes time to talk, she suggests asking children what they already know about what’s going on in the community or what’s on the news, and addressing their questions directly.
“Try to figure out what it is that your children know, and think about what they need to know.”
She emphasized that children of different ages need different levels of information.
“A child may say, ‘I’m worried we’re not going to have our neighborhood block party,’” Cicchetti said. “That might seem silly to an adult but that might be what your child is sitting up worrying about at night.”
Above all, Cicchetti said parents should not lie, but also should not instill unnecessary fear.
“We can’t say that [bad things] will never happen… but you can help them understand that those things don’t happen very often, even though it looks like they happen a lot because they’re seeing it on the news.”
Cicchetti adds that maintaining routines and modeling calm behavior can also help.
“The better thing to do is to proactively make them feel safe and secure by keeping routines going,” she said. “Then if they raise questions or if they have changes in their behavior, that’s when you need to figure out, ‘Okay, what do they know or what do they need right now?’”