The National Guard arrives in Chicago. What now?

Summary

Consider This from NPR

Episode: The National Guard Arrives in Chicago. What Now?

Date: October 7, 2025
Host: Juana Summers

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Episode Overview

This episode examines the Trump administration’s controversial deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities, specifically Chicago, Memphis, and Portland, in response to purported spikes in crime and to support federal immigration enforcement. It delves into the resulting legal and political standoff between the federal government and state and local leaders, the invocation of the Insurrection Act, and what this all means for Chicago. The episode features a detailed interview with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on the ground realities, legal challenges, and his broader concerns about federal overreach.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump Administration’s National Guard Deployment (00:00–00:38)

• President Trump’s Rationale
  • President Trump frames Chicago as suffering from extreme crime, citing comparisons to global conflict zones:

    "It's probably worse than almost any city in the in the world. You could go to Afghanistan. You can go to a lot of different places. And they probably marvel at how much crime we have."
    — President Donald Trump (00:16)

• Federal troops are said to be supporting immigration enforcement and curbing “rampant crime.”

2. State and Local Leaders Push Back (00:28–01:07)

• Legal and Political Resistance
  • Governors and mayors, notably Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, have filed lawsuits to halt the deployments, calling them threats to democracy and overreaction to manageable situations.
  • Governor Kotek remarks:

    "To put military troops in American cities is a threat to our democracy... There is not an insurrection or a rebellion not only in Portland or Chicago or other places."
    — Gov. Tina Kotek (00:38)

  • She emphasizes that local law enforcement is handling lawful demonstrations and these are not true crises:

    "Local law enforcement is handling the situation. And I think this is an overreaction..."
    — Gov. Kotek (00:54)

3. The Insurrection Act and Executive Power (01:07–01:42)

• Trump’s Threat to Bypass the Courts
  • President Trump signals willingness to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, granting him broad authority to deploy the military domestically:

    "We have an insurrection act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I'd do that..."
    — President Trump (01:28)

  • The administration portrays its actions as reactions to emergencies, while state leaders see it as federal overreach.

4. Interview: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (03:21–10:12)

The Legal Battle and Preparedness (03:51–04:20)

• Governor Pritzker clarifies the status of legal proceedings:

  "The judge is ... reading the filings and demanded that the federal government submit something by Wednesday so that she could make a ruling potentially on Thursday."
  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker (04:14)

• Notes the rapid arrival of federally activated Texas National Guard troops, not yet in Chicago but nearby at a federal facility.

Constitutionality of Deployment and ICE Tactics (05:20–06:31)

• On Whether ICE Needs National Guard Support:

  "[ICE and CBP] are carrying it out in an extremely aggressive fashion. That borders on breaking the law, federal law and state law... They're using, literally people's skin color as a way to determine whether they're going to stop people and ask them for their papers."
  — Gov. Pritzker (05:40)

• Argues this leads to racial profiling and unnecessary detentions.

Insurrection Act: The Legal and Moral Stakes (06:31–08:31)

• On the Threat of the Insurrection Act:

  "Remember, the Insurrection act has the name insurrection in it for a reason. It's only something that you can effectuate if there is an insurrection, a foreign invasion, a true national emergency. That doesn't exist here..."
  — Gov. Pritzker (06:53)

• Refutes Trump’s framing of Chicago as a war zone, blaming federal agents for escalations:

  "It's ICE and CBP that have been launching grenades with tear gas... they're the ones that are creating mayhem on the ground..."
  — Gov. Pritzker (07:28)

• Asserts that violence is localized and statistics show crime is decreasing in Chicago:

  "...our crime rate has been dropping and dropping, you know, half the homicide rate that it was a few years ago. Double digit declines each year."
  — Gov. Pritzker (08:08)

Legal Precedents and Future Risks (08:31–10:08)

• Concerns Over Judicial Precedent and Presidential Power:

  "The courts have appeared quite willing to increase the power of the president. Are you concerned about where all of this could be going?"
  — Juana Summers (08:31)

• Pritzker acknowledges reliance on judicial checks but voices deep concern about federal supremacy and agent immunity:

  "...the Supremacy Clause says that the federal government's laws essentially override state laws if they're in direct contravention... there's immunity for federal agents from the federal government for much of their activity."
  — Gov. Pritzker (09:02)

• Calls for citizen action and documentation:

  "We've called on people to take action, like creating evidence for our court cases by pulling out their iPhones and their Android phones and filming everything."
  — Gov. Pritzker (09:28)

• Cites an alderman’s ICE detention as an example of misconduct only made public due to bystander video.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Militarization:

  "To put military troops in American cities is a threat to our democracy."
  — Gov. Tina Kotek (00:38)

• On Racial Profiling by ICE:

  "[ICE and CBP are] using, literally, people's skin color as a way to determine whether they're going to stop people and ask them for their papers... Most people don't walk around with papers to prove that I'm a US Citizen."
  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker (05:50)

• On Escalation by Federal Agents:

  "It's ICE and CBP that have been launching grenades with tear gas, that have been pelting people with... rubber bullets, they're the ones that are creating mayhem on the ground..."
  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker (07:28)

• On Documenting Possible Abuses:

  "We wouldn't even know about the aldermen who was detained by ICE for simply standing and asking them questions... It's on film. We wouldn't know about that if someone hadn't pulled out their phone to take video of it."
  — Gov. J.B. Pritzker (09:38)

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Timeline & Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | |------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Opening / Trump and Federal Rationale | 00:00–01:07| | State/Local Pushback (Kotek remarks) | 00:28–01:07| | Insurrection Act Overview and Trump’s Threat | 01:07–01:42| | Interview with Gov. J.B. Pritzker – Legal Process | 03:51–04:20| | ICE Activity and Criticism | 05:20–06:31| | Insurrection Act, Escalation Claims | 06:31–08:08| | Legal Precedent & Calls for Documentation | 08:31–10:08| | Interview Conclusion | 10:08–10:12|

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Summary

In this charged episode, NPR’s Juana Summers and guest Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker break down the extraordinary deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago under the orders of President Trump and the high-stakes legal and political battles now unfolding. Governor Pritzker adamantly rejects the administration’s assertions of emergency, criticizes law enforcement tactics as bordering on illegality and racial profiling, and worries about court precedents expanding presidential power. The conversation situates this moment as a test of federalism, democracy, and the boundary between maintaining order and overstepping constitutional norms.

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For listeners:
This episode offers invaluable, up-to-the-minute insight into the intersection of national security, state rights, immigration policy, and democracy at a moment of rare domestic tension.

Transcript

[Juana Summers]

The Trump administration has said it wants National Guard troops patrolling the streets in Memphis, Portland and Chicago. The reason, says President Trump and members of his Cabinet, a need to address rampant crime and give support to federal agents involved in immigration enforcement.

[President Donald Trump]

It's probably worse than almost any city in the in the world. You could go to Afghanistan. You can go to a lot of different places. And they probably marvel at how much crime we have.

[Juana Summers]

But the governors of Oregon and Illinois and the mayors of Chicago and Portland have filed lawsuits to try and stop the deployment of National Guard troops in their cities and states.

[Oregon Governor Tina Kotek]

To put military troops in American cities is a threat to our democracy. There is not an insurrection or a rebellion not only in Portland or Chicago or other places.

[Juana Summers]

Oregon's governor, Democrat Tina Kotak, speaking to All Things Considered on Monday.

[Oregon Governor Tina Kotek]

Look, there are challenges. There's lawful demonstrations. Local law enforcement is handling the situation. And I think this is an overreaction to the situation and it's just not true. Facts should matter.

[Juana Summers]

Now, as the war of wills between the states and the executive branch is intensifying, President Trump is saying he could try and bypass the courts altogether by using the Insurrection act. It's an 1807 law that would give him broad latitude to use the National Guard or active duty troops for law enforcement on domestic soil.

[President Donald Trump]

We have an insurrection act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I'd do that. If people were being killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I'd do that.

[Juana Summers]

Consider this Trump says Chicago and other cities need the National Guard on the streets. Illinois Governor Democrat J.B. pritzker says it's an invasion. After the break, we'll hear more from Governor Pritzker. From npr, I'm Juana Summers.

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[Juana Summers]

It's consider this from NPR. The clock is ticking for Chicago and Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker. President Trump has deployed the National Guard to the country's third largest city, and he says they will begin operations no later than Wednesday. Pritzker, a Democrat, has called President Trump's efforts a, quote, invasion. And along with Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson, he is fighting the administration's efforts in the courts. Governor J.B. pritzker joins me now. Welcome back to the program.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Thank you very much, Juana.

[Juana Summers]

Thanks for being here, Governor. We're speaking on Tuesday morning, and the Trump administration has said that troops will be on the ground no later than tomorrow. You have filed suit against this move, but the judge declined to block the deployment. There will not be a hearing until Thursday morning. So I just want to start by asking you, how are you preparing for the fact that the National Guard could well be on the streets of Chicago as this lawsuit is playing out?

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Well, let me be clear that the judge is actually deciding this on Thursday and hasn't declined anything. She's literally reading the filings and demanded that the federal government submit something by Wednesday so that she could make a ruling potentially on Thursday. We don't know how she will rule, but I certainly, based on the precedent of what occurred down in Oregon, we believe that we'll get the rule that we want. Remember that we we are seeing National Guard troops coming from Texas now. We have our own National Guard that have been federalized, and the Texas National Guard were already federalized. So that's why they were able to move quickly. And they've already started arriving, not in Chicago, but in Joliet at a federal facility there. The federal judge, though, warned the federal lawyers that it wouldn't be a good idea for them to deploy them until there is a ruling.

[Juana Summers]

Your state's attorney general has argued that the deployment of the military to Illinois is unlawful and constitutional no matter where these forces come from. But the Trump administration, for its part, says that it is deploying troops to assist federal agents with immigration enforcement. So have officers been able to carry out ICE enforcement duties without support of local law enforcement?

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

They have. And they are carrying out those duties? I will say that they are doing them. They're carrying it out in an extremely aggressive fashion. That borders on breaking the law, federal law and state law. But ICE agents and Customs and Border Patrol are on the ground and they have been effectuating their plan. The thing is, they're using, literally people's skin color as a way to determine whether they're going to stop people and ask them for their papers. Now think about that. I don't walk around with papers to prove that I'm a US Citizen. I bet you don't either. Most people don't. But they're demanding that if you happen to have, you know, something other than white skin, you better have something to prove it or you're going to get detained or arrested.

[Juana Summers]

Governor, President Trump said on Monday that at the moment he doesn't plan to, but that if governors like yourself and the courts do not cooperate with his administration's efforts, that he would consider invoking the Insurrection act, which would give him broad latitude to use the Guard or active duty troops for law enforcement in Chicago, not limited to protecting federal agents. How serious of a threat is that?

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Well, remember, the Insurrection act has the name insurrection in it for a reason. It's only something that you can effectuate. If there is an insurrection, a foreign invasion, a true national emergency that doesn't exist here and it doesn't exist in Portland. It didn't exist in Washington, D.C. or in Los Angeles. So I realize that President Trump, who does no reading and doesn't understand anything, you know, uses the words insurrection act like he understands it.

[Juana Summers]

Right. The President might disagree with your characterization there. He has argued that it is emergency. He has described whether it looks like war in some of these cities.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Yeah, but he's the one that's causing that situation. That is to say, it's ICE and CBP that have been launching grenades with tear gas, that have been pelting people with, you know, with plastic or rubber bullets, they're the ones that are creating mayhem on the ground specifically because they want to claim that there's some sort of emergency. There isn't. This is occurring in a two block area of a suburb of Chicago, Broadview. So, you know, yes, they can take their own video of an incident that occurs, you know, in that two block area and make it seem like that's all of Chicago. That's not even in the city of Chicago. In fact, our crime rate has been dropping and dropping, you know, half the homicide rate that it was a few years ago. Double digit declines each year. Now, Donald Trump just, he honestly doesn't read. He doesn't understand what's going on in the cities. He just has some notion in his head there's some sort of dementia going on, and he just keeps repeating things from years gone by.

[Juana Summers]

Governor, as I listened to you talk about the Insurrection act or the restraining order that your state has filed, it sounds to me like you're in many ways relying on how things have been in the past. And if there's one thing we've seen, it's that the courts have appeared quite willing to increase the power of the president. Are you concerned about where all of this could be going?

[Oregon Governor Tina Kotek]

Sure.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

And I think we have to rely on the courts and get rulings that. That are, you know, uphold the Constitution and the law. Unfortunately, we have a system in which the Supremacy Clause says that the federal government's laws essentially override state laws if they're in direct contravention. And also there's immunity for federal agents from the federal government for much of their activity. So we don't do that on the ground. We don't hold everybody immune. Sometimes we do in certain things, but what we can't do is just sit idly by while these things are occurring. And that's why we've called on people to take action, like creating evidence for our court cases by pulling out their iPhones and their Android phones and filming everything. We wouldn't even know about the aldermen who was detained by ICE for simply standing and asking them questions. She was truly docile in the entire matter. It's on film. We wouldn't know about that if someone hadn't pulled out their phone to take video of it. We need to find ways to hold them responsible. Private organizations, private legal organizations like the ACLU are doing that now. And to the extent that states and local governments can do so, we are.

[Juana Summers]

Governor J.B. pritzker, Democrat of Illinois, thank you so much for speaking with us.

[Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker]

Thanks, Juana.

[Juana Summers]

This episode was produced by Megan Lim. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigun. It's consider this from npr. I'm Juana Summers.

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