Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) revealed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had requested the Department of War send 100 military personnel to Illinois to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and “facilities.”
The DHS request for military troops to protect ICE personnel and facilities comes after a man opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas. Days after the shooting, protesters were heard chanting, “Kill ICE!” and “Shoot ICE!” outside of the Broadview Processing Center in Illinois.
During a press conference on Monday, Pritzker stated that his administration had “received numerous confirmed reports of federal agents” from ICE, and Border Patrol allegedly “abusing their power” and intimidating civilians.
Pritzker’s announcement came after President Donald Trump revealed on Saturday that at DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s request, he was “directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect” Portland, Oregon, and any ICE facilities “under siege from attack by Antifa.”
“Moments ago, the Illinois National Guard received word that the Department of Homeland Security has sent a memo to the Department of War, seeking the deployment of 100 military troops to Illinois, claiming a need for the protection of ICE personnel and facilities,” Pritzker said. “What I have been warning of is now being realized.”
Five protesters are reportedly “facing federal charges” for their involvement in the protest outside of the Broadview Processing Center and are “accused of forcibly assaulting or resisting federal agents” during a protest on Saturday, according to WGN9 News.
Pritzker continued to claim that “none of what Trump is doing is making Illinois safer.”
Breitbart News’s Nick Gilbertson reported that on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance “highlighted a violent anti-ICE riot in Portland over the Summer that led to the siege of an ICE building.”:
During an executive order signing event on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance highlighted a violent anti-ICE riot in Portland over the Summer that led to the siege of an ICE building.
“I believe it was in Oregon where you had a federal building where there were men in black ski masks who were committing acts of violence, who were shutting down a government building,” Vance said.
In several posts on X, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller responded to Democrats criticizing the Trump administration for the increase in “federal agents in Portland.”
“‘Does not want federal agents,’” Miller wrote in a post. “Last time I checked, Portland was part of the United States. Once again, the Democrat message is: the only way to stop the violence against federal law enforcement is for law enforcement to surrender and withdraw.”
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