CHICAGO — Clashes between protesters and federal agents over immigration enforcement[1] escalated this weekend, capping several weeks of tension over President Donald Trump’s vow to send federalized National Guard troops to the streets of Chicago. Skirmishes outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview led the mayor to announce Monday that she was limiting demonstrations to certain hours.
The announcement, which was provided first to NBC News, comes after multiple clashes around an ICE processing facility in Broadview, where federal agents fired pepper balls and tear gas and used physical force[2], including slamming people to the ground[3], as protesters have tried to block vehicles[4] from entering and leaving the facility.
Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson issued an order designating protest hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily “in response to escalating disruptions and public safety concerns.”
Tensions have grown in Chicago and the surrounding area after President Donald Trump launched Operation Midway Blitz, massively increasing immigration enforcement in the area. The operation has so far led to 900 arrests, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Thompson said in a statement that the order sought to balance the constitutional rights of protesters and “the needs and safety of Broadview’s residents and businesses.”
“People have to go to work, they have to get their children ready for school, our businesses have to serve their customers, and our residents with developmental disabilities, who have sensory issues, have suffered emotional meltdowns because of the chaotic environment when protests get disruptive,” she said in the statement.
She said some demonstrators have escalated into unsafe situations, including over the weekend, when there was a “very aggressive crowd of protesters and the situation got out of control” as demonstrators tried to take over Interstate 290.
“I have repeatedly said that I intend to defend the protesters’ constitutionally protected free speech rights. I support their cause,” she said. “But the repeated clashes with ICE agents in our town are causing enormous disruptions in the quality of life for my residents whose rights I have taken an oath to protect. We live here. Our residents live here and deserve dignity and respect.”
ICE said in a statement that the Broadview Processing Center “continues to face violence and unlawful activity by rioters. The relentless actions of these individuals — and their attempts to obstruct the enforcement of federal law — are unacceptable.”
The agency said “local inaction” by officials “has enabled agitators to escalate violence and placed federal officers, first responders, and Broadview residents in harm’s way.”
Trump has also been threatening to deploy the National Guard to Chicago for months, giving the greenlight to do so over the weekend, as state and local officials have fought back against his efforts.
Earlier Monday, the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued[5] to block the Trump administration from deploying federalized National Guard troops[6] on the streets of Chicago.
“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor,” the Illinois Attorney General’s Office wrote in the filing, which names President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll as defendants.
Representatives for the Justice Department, the Army and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Defense Department declined to comment.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said at a news conference later Monday that Trump’s plans to send in the National Guard were an “unconstitutional invasion of Illinois by the federal government.”
“Peaceful protesters have been hit with tear gas and shot with rubber bullets; journalists simply reporting the facts on the ground have been targeted and arrested; U.S. citizens, including children, have been traumatized and detained,” he said.
He said the “escalation of violence is targeted and intentional and premeditated. The Trump administration is following a playbook. Cause chaos, create fear and confusion, make it seem like peaceful protesters are a mob by firing gas pellets and tear gas canisters at them.”
Pritzker said Trump wanted to “justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command.”
The White House maintained Trump’s actions are lawful.
“Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders like Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers and assets. President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
Citing crime issues, Trump has also threatened to send the National Guard into other prominent Democratic-run cities, including New York, Baltimore and New Orleans. The rate of serious crimes has dropped dramatically[7] in Chicago and the other cities Trump had targeted in recent years. Statistics from the Chicago Police Department[8] show the murder rate through the end of September is down 29% compared with the same period last year. Overall crime is down 13%, according to the police department.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Monday called “ICE Free Zone,” which prohibits federal immigration agents from using any city-owned property during its operations in Chicago.
“We will not tolerate ICE agents violating our residents’ constitutional rights nor will we allow the federal government to disregard our local authority. ICE agents are detaining elected officials, tear-gassing protestors, children, and Chicago police officers, and abusing Chicago residents. We will not stand for that in our city,” Johnson said in a statement.
The White House, in a statement Monday,[9] called Johnson’s order “a disgusting betrayal of every law-abiding citizen.”
“Johnson’s pathetic excuse that enforcing our nation’s immigration laws somehow ‘undermines community trust’ exposes his true loyalty: to criminal illegal alien predators, not the terrified families of Chicago,” the statement said.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Monday afternoon that Johnson was “demonizing ICE law enforcement” and accused him of not caring about the safety of federal law enforcement officers or Chicagoans.
“His reckless policies not only endanger our law enforcement, but public safety,” she said.
References
- ^ protesters and federal agents over immigration enforcement (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ fired pepper balls and tear gas and used physical force (www.nbcchicago.com)
- ^ slamming people to the ground (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ protesters have tried to block vehicles (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ deploying federalized National Guard troops (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ dropped dramatically (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ Chicago Police Department (www.chicagopolice.org)
- ^ White House, in a statement Monday, (www.whitehouse.gov)