Chicago puts up a fight against Trump, deployment of National Guard troops

CHICAGO — Eric Harvey is furious about the deployment of the National Guard to Illinois, the city of Chicago, and his neighborhood.

"That's a publicity stunt, man!" Harvey, who lives in the south side, said.

This summer Chicago's homicide rate was the lowest since the 1960s. So, Harvey can't believe hundreds of troops have arrived in Illinois to make the city any safer. President Donald Trump has called Chicago a "war zone" and has claimed the city's crime rate is unsustainable.

Under Trump's orders, National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas are tasked with protecting federal government employees such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and federal property.

Chicago resident Eric Harvey poses in front of a building that was recently raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in his neighborhood.

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Harvey said Trump is doing this to appear like he's keeping the city safe from undocumented immigrants. This hits close to home. Harvey lives in a neighborhood that recently had a big ICE raid in a residential building.

"You snatching kids and people that get up and go to work every day — that's who you grab, you not grabbing no criminals," Harvey said.

Trump's pressure is met with resistance

Last month, the Trump administration ramped up its immigration enforcement operations in Chicago. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the mission dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz" has led to more than 1,000 arrests of migrants without legal status.

Chicago residents have taken to the streets to push back. They have recorded — and published — the ICE arrests, and have created ICE watch groups.

On Wednesday night, hundreds of people marched in downtown Chicago to protest the deployment of the troops and the presence of ICE.

Jessica Urbina, 26, came to march by herself because she felt it was important to join her community to repudiate Trump's actions.

Jessica Urbina, a 26-year-old college student, poses in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower on Oct. 8.

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"I feel empowered," she said. "I don't know these people, but we all have a lot in common and we all have the same motive to help each other, lean on each other."

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told NPR Wednesday his office will do whatever it takes to resist Trump's attacks on his city. He says Congress and the Supreme Court are complicit.

"They're aiding and abetting the dismantling of our democracy and our Constitution," Johnson said. "We'll use every single tool that's available to me. This is going to play out in the courts. It's going to play out on the streets."

A federal judge in Chicago will hear arguments Thursday afternoon on whether the deployment is legal or not.

It's unclear what exactly Johnson will do. So far, he's used executive orders to make it harder for ICE to operate in the city — including a ban on the use of city-owned or operated space by federal agents.

He said it's the first time a mayor has had to fight off what he calls a federal invasion.

Johnson's defiance has irked Trump, who has called for the arrests of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Johnson for "failing to protect ICE officers."

"This is not the first time Trump has accused or insisted on a Black man being arrested," Johnson said. "A president that is threatening to jail his political opponents is clear — yet another example of authoritarianism."

Jackson, a Venezuelan migrant, waits for his bus in Chicago on Oct. 8, 2025.

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All of this has caused a lot of fear in the Chicago neighborhoods where many immigrants live. Census data shows about one in five residents in Chicago are foreign born.

Jackson, a Venezuelan immigrant who is only using his first name because of his immigration status, said he's terrified of walking the streets of Chicago with so much federal law enforcement presence.

"And now with the National Guard things will be even more complicated," Jackson said in Spanish, his eyes filled with tears. "It's super scary to even go grocery shopping."

He has three kids and a wife. 39-year-old Jackson says they have had conversations about what to do if he gets picked up by ICE.

Jackson works in construction, but recently he has not been going to work.

He talked to NPR reporters while waiting at a bus stop right across the street ICE raided last week in a military-style operation. He was en route to meet an attorney to file for asylum.

"I'm trying to show that I'm working, that I have not committed any crimes," Jackson said. "Maybe I'll be given a chance."
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