Quigley Statement on National Guard Deployment to Chicago

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley released the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Chicago to support ICE enforcement activities:

“The people of Chicago are already reeling from escalatory ICE raids. Trump is now ratcheting up tensions when we should all be lowering the temperature. He is using our service members as political props during a shutdown where they are working without pay. The deployment of hundreds of ICE agents and National Guard troops is not only unnecessary, it’s costing us millions of tax dollars. None of it is making us safer. This isn’t about protection, it’s about power. 

“Deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities is illegal. As a Trump-appointed judge recently said, ‘This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.’ I strongly support Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul’s suit against the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional actions. I also recognize that the courts move slowly and the administration has a record of flouting the law. I continue to encourage my fellow Chicagoans to remain peaceful, know their rights, report wrongdoing, and continue pushing back.

“The city of Chicago and the state of Illinois will not stand by while the Trump Administration terrorizes our neighbors. I will continue to call for accountability and oversight of ICE and National Guard troops, and we will stand with our neighbors to peacefully protest Trump’s illegal actions.”

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