Governor J.B. Pritzker and the State of Illinois have launched a major legal challenge against the Trump administration, filing a lawsuit on Monday that accuses federal immigration authorities of a "dangerous use of force" and a "coordinated campaign of violence and intimidation" in Chicago and surrounding areas.
Allegations of Military-Style Occupation and Coercion
The lawsuit paints a stark picture of federal overreach, describing an "organized bombardment" that has created turmoil and fear. It alleges that under the direction of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol official Greg Bovino, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have effectively mounted an "occupation" of Chicago and its suburbs.
According to the filing, the ultimate goal of this operation is to "coerce" state officials into abandoning Illinois's own immigration policies, such as the Trust Act and the Way Forward Act, which limit local cooperation with federal enforcement.
A Pattern of Escalating Tactics and Violence
The state's complaint details a series of aggressive actions by federal agents over recent months. These include storming apartment complexes, deploying chemical agents near schools, and even handcuffing a Chicago city council member at a hospital. Since a crackdown began in September, over 1,000 immigrants have been arrested.
More alarmingly, the lawsuit connects these actions to at least two shootings by immigration officers, one of them fatal. In September, an ICE officer shot and killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a 38-year-old father of two, after he dropped his son at daycare. DHS claimed he drove at officers, but state lawyers contest this, noting video evidence did not show the officer was seriously injured as alleged.
In a separate October incident, Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot Chicago resident and U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez five times. The lawsuit claims Exum bragged about the shooting in a group text, and that initial claims Martinez rammed his vehicle were contradicted by body camera footage showing an agent provocatively saying, "Do something, bitch," before the shots were fired.
From Executive Order to National Guard Deployment
The current conflict has deep roots. In April 2025, President Trump issued an executive order designating Chicago a "sanctuary city" and directing officials to assess compliance with federal operations. The Justice Department subsequently sued Illinois, but a judge dismissed the case in July, upholding the state's rights under the 10th Amendment.
After a September ruling blocked the administration from withholding federal funds as coercion, the lawsuit alleges an "angered" Trump threatened a military assault on Chicago in a social media post. He federalized the Illinois National Guard over Pritzker's objections in October, claiming violence against agents. A judge temporarily blocked that deployment, and the Supreme Court later upheld the block in December, finding the government lacked authority to use the military for law enforcement in Illinois.
Despite these legal setbacks, Illinois claims unqualified Border Patrol agents continue to flood the state, employing tactics like:
- Masked, armed patrols along the Chicago River.
- Large, intimidating displays of military gear in downtown Chicago.
- Warrantless, military-style raids on apartment buildings, where agents rappel from helicopters, zip-tie residents, and ransack homes.
- Non-consensual collection of biometric data.
- Indiscriminate use of tear gas near schools, hospitals, and shelters.
The lawsuit from Illinois was filed the same day the State of Minnesota sued over a similar ICE enforcement surge. Illinois is now asking a judge to issue a sweeping order to stop CBP's civil immigration enforcement in the state, including its roving patrols, warrantless arrests, and use of chemical weapons. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday.
