Trump's Trials - Illinois governor calls National Guard deployment an 'invasion' of his state

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

Several clashes happened over the weekend between protesters and federal agents in Chicago. It comes as the Trump administration and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker fight over National Guard deployments.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detrow, and this is Trump's Terms from NPR. We're going to be doing all sorts of things. Nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back string to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode, we bring you one of NPR's latest stories about the 47th president, and now he is trying to remake the federal government.

Today's story starts right after this. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle Martin. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker says the Trump. Trump administration is staging a, quote, invasion of his state. Pritzker says President Trump,

without calling him directly, ordered 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Chicago, Portland, and other U.S. cities. A federal judge late Sunday night blocked the Trump administration's use of any National Guard troops in Oregon, but that case did not involve Illinois. WBEZ reporter Arasili Gomez-Aldana has been following the story and is with us now from Chicago with Alinas. Good morning. Good morning. So this ruling came. after there was some kind of confrontation between federal immigration agents and protesters in Chicago earlier this weekend. Could you just remind us how it began? It all started Saturday morning in the Brighton Park neighborhood, a mostly Latino neighborhood on Chicago's southwest side.

That's when a U.S. Border Patrol officer shot a woman after federal agents said they were boxed in and threatened by multiple cars. The Department of Homeland Security says border patrol agents were rammed by cars. First, they said 10. They later said two cars. And that they fired, defensive shots. The woman shot by federal agents, 30-year-old Miriam Martinez. She's now out of the hospital and has been charged with felony assault on federal officers. We know federal prosecutors have also charged 21-year-old Anthony Ian Sotos Rees in the same incident. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, quote, we will not allow domestic terrorists to attack or law enforcement. If you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest

extent of the law. Residents and activists, city leaders, however, they say, federal agents are increasing use of combative tactics, and they're raising tensions that lead to violence. So you were out in that neighborhood over the weekend, as I understand it. What was the mood like there? I felt like people were still on edge. Some things were they, in ways a lot, things were calmer on Sunday, and I spoke to neighbors close, that they were close by to the shooting. They said they hid in their homes and their cars because of the effects of the tear gas that the federal agents were deploying on the protesters. And the protest happened short. after that shooting. There seems to be a mix of frustration and also fear. I spoke to

older woman Julia Ramirez and she represents Breton Park. She told me her ward has seen weeks of escalating immigration enforcement and residents feel targeted. She says federal officers seem to be targeting Latino men of all ages while they wait for a bus or they walk to work. And Ramirez says she's concerned federal officers are violating people's civil rights because they're targeting people that look Hispanic or Latino. There is like the sense of like helplessness and distress that we're all feeling because there's sort of this like lack of law and order. A lot of these things feel very unprecedented.

Ramirez is calling for a full investigation into the shooting and more transparency from federal agencies. How has Governor Pritzker been responding to all of this? Well, Pritzker, he's a Democrat and he says what's happening amounts to a war zone created by the Trump administration. hears him speaking on CNN Sunday. They're raiding neighborhoods where instead of going after the bad guys, they're just picking up people who are brown and black and then checking their credentials. The governor also refused to activate Illinois National Guard troops, even after the White House gave him what he called an ultimatum, saying call up your troops or we will.

And on Sunday, after learning about Trump's move to send Texas National Guard to Chicago, Pritzer called it, quote, madness and asked Texas Governor Greg, Abbott 2 refuse. In the meantime, U.S. Border Patrol agents have been seen patrolling downtown Chicago wearing tactical gear, carrying long guns, and making arrests. They say their mission is to protect federal officers, personnel, and property, especially where officials say there's a current threat of violence. That is a reporter Aricelli Gomez-Aldana with member station WBEZ in Chicago. Arasili, thank you. You're welcome. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more. coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's

political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR. Thank you.