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Trump to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard troops soon, tensions rising in Brighton Park after immigration agents shoot woman

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Published on October 4, 2025

Trump to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard troops soon, tensions rising in Brighton Park after immigration agents shoot woman

40th and Kedzie in Chicago, where locals are facing down militarized federal agents in Brighton Park neighborhood on Oct. 4, 2025. Photo by Dave Byrnes/Unraveled Press

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10/4/2025 — WHAT WE’VE HEARD TODAY:

The TRiiBE is working in collaboration with indie investigative newsroom Unraveled Press and alt-weekly Chicago Reader to bring you confirmed sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents in the Chicago area.

Today, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that the Trump administration “intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard” within the coming hours.

This news comes nearly a week after Pritzker shared at a Sept. 29 press conference that 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.”

This week, Chicago experienced escalating force from Trump’s militarized federal immigration agents. Two Black neighborhoods, South Shore and Bronzeville, were shaken by ICE raids that saw agents rappelling from Black Hawk helicopters onto an apartment building and dozens of agents in unmarked cars swarming a homeless shelter. On Chicago’s West Side, federal agents placed a Black man in a chokehold — although Homeland Security denied the allegations, the incident was captured on camera.

On Friday in suburban Broadview, federal and local police crushed an anti-deportation protest outside the ICE “processing” facility.

Illinois State Police assist feds inan anti-deportation protest outside the Broadview ICE “processing” facility on Oct. 3, 2025. Photo by Raven Geary/Unraveled Press

In today’s press statement, Pritzker said the Trump administration’s “Department of War” gave him an ultimatum this morning: “call up your troops, or we will.”

Standing firm, Pritzker said there is no need for military troops in Chicago. He added that he will not call up the National Guard.

“This demand follows unprecedented escalations of aggression against Illinois citizens and residents,” Pritzker said. “Yesterday, Kristi Noem’s and Greg Bovino’s masked agents threw chemical agents near an elementary school, arrested elected officials exercising their First Amendment rights, and raided a Wal-Mart. None of it was in pursuit of justice, but all of it was in pursuit of social media videos. ​”

Just before Pritzker’s announcement, a crowd gathered in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood in protest of federal agents reportedly shooting and injuring a woman. According to Unraveled Press, there are approximately 100 neighbors at the scene and nearly 50 federal agents who appear to be armed with chemical munitions. 

Chicago Police are also at the scene. The local police have set up a line to keep protestors back from federal agents.

40th and Kedzie in Chicago, where locals are facing down militarized federal agents in Brighton Park neighborhood in October 2025. Photo by Dave Byrnes
40th and Kedzie in Chicago, where locals are facing down militarized federal agents in Brighton Park neighborhood. Photo by Dave Byrnes/Unraveled Press

The crowd is chanting, “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the woman was shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents this morning, marking the second shooting since Trump’s administration began its surge of immigration enforcement in the Chicagoland area last month.

The woman was taken to Mount Sinai in fair condition.

On Twitter, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote that “members of our brave law enforcement were attacked — rammed and boxed in by ten vehicles, including an attacker with a semi-automatic weapon.”

The TRiiBE has not yet independently verified the federal agents account of the incident.

In September, immigration agents shot and killed an unarmed 38-year-old father, Silverio Villegas González, in Franklin Park, a suburb just outside of Chicago. Their initial narrative of events was quickly disproven by videos captured by witnesses, Unraveled Press reported.

Just after 3:30 p.m., federal agents tossed tear gas at protestors in Brighton Park. Video shows Chicago police officers being impacted by the chemical irritant as well. Unraveled Press reports that the agents used the tear gas as a method to clear the path for them to leave the scene.

Just after 6:00 p.m., the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Chicago released a statement condemning arrests by state at federal authorities outside the Broadview ICE facility and in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood.

NLG Chicago reports that legal observers documented four arrests today in Brighton Park.

“We expect that those arrested will be taken to the Broadview ICE detention center,” the statement reads.

NLG Chicago also confirmed 18 total arrested — 13 by federal agents and five by state or local police — in Broadview on Friday. The organization referred to the Broadview demonstrations as constitutionally protected.

“Of the 13 federal arrests, 11 individuals were released without charges after being held for 12 hours,” the statement reads. “They were driven off-site and released at a gas station, a concerning pattern that NLG Chicago has witnessed with other recent arrests. The remaining two people in federal custody will be held until their appearances in federal court in Chicago on Monday.”

NLG Chicago added that, of the state or local arrests, four people were released with misdemeanor charges or citations. The remaining person was held in custody overnight for a hearing today in Cook County criminal court, and ordered to be released today.

Details about that incident are still developing.