Feds seek deployment of 100 troops to Illinois to protect ICE agents, Pritzker says

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said the Trump administration is seeking to deploy 100 military troops to Illinois to protect federal immigration personnel and facilities. Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard received word that the Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the Department of War to seek the deployment of troops. “What I have been warning of is now being realized,“ Pritzker said. He and other state and local officials called the reported and anticipated actions by federal agents illegal and unprecedented. The dramatic revelation comes as armed federal immigration agents patrolled several of Chicago’s busiest tourist areas on Sunday and protests at a suburban ICE detention facility have at times become violent. The governor later said it was unclear exactly which troops would be deployed to the state. He reiterated that the Trump administration has not been in contact with state or local officials. Pritzker said reports of federal agents “abusing their power, intimidating innocent civilians and waging war on our people“ are part of a strategy to “create a pretext“ to deploy troops to the Chicago area. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any plans to deploy troops. Fox 32 Chicago’s Kasey Chronis joins LiveNOW’s Mike Pache to discuss. Subscribe to LiveNOW from FOX! Where to watch LiveNOW from FOX: Follow us @LiveNOWFOX on Twitter: Raw and unfiltered. Watch a non-stop stream of breaking news, live events and stories across the nation. Limited commentary. No opinion. Experience LiveNOW from FOX.