(José Niño, Headline USA) The Department of Homeland Security has formally requested immediate military assistance from the Pentagon to support upcoming ICE operations in Chicago, according to a leaked “For Official Use Only” memo obtained by journalist Ken Klippenstein.
The memo requests “immediate Department of Defense support” for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) “to address public safety and national security.” It indicates that active-duty troops, rather than the Illinois National Guard, would be providing this support.
Specifically, the document asks for “support infrastructure,” such as highway access, fuel, and “other logistical nodes…” The planned staging ground is Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, about 30 miles from downtown.
Dated August 27, the request was written by DHS Executive Secretary Andrew Whitaker and sent to his Defense Department counterpart, Anthony Fuscellaro. Whitaker, a former Ralph Lauren Brand Ambassador and longtime Trump political operative, is behind the push.
The request opens with:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requests immediate Department of Defense (DoD) support to provide existing infrastructure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), a component of DHS, to conduct operations in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area. This support is critical to ensuring the efficient and secure handling of aliens in accordance with federal regulations and in line with ICE’s ongoing efforts to address public safety and national security.
Screenshots of the leaked memo show that it cites multiple Trump-era executive orders declaring immigration at the southern border an “invasion” and a “national emergency.”
One section reads, “DHS seeks to expeditiously execute Presidential guidance to protect the American people against invasion, foreign terrorists, and other national security and public safety threats.”
Earlier this week, asked whether he would send the National Guard into Chicago, President Trump simply said, “We’re going in,” adding: “I didn’t say when.” This document suggests the timeline is already set — with operations already underway and extending for a month.
“DoD facilitates the use of Naval Station Great Lakes 30 days of operations in the Chicago Metropolitan area, with the advance party arriving September 2, 2025.”
Despite this, the Illinois National Guard maintains no official orders have been issued. “No units have been activated and we do not have an order or preparatory command for any mission,” deputy public affairs director William Grove recently said to Axios.
Sources also revealed to Klippenstein that Customs and Border Protection is being folded into the operation. Meanwhile, Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson voiced strong opposition during a press conference.
Johnson stressed that Chicago does “not want or need military occupation in our city.”
Pritzker warned, “We know before anything has happened here, that the Trump plan is to use any excuse to deploy armed military personnel to Chicago. If someone flings a sandwich at an ICE agent, Trump will try and go on TV and declare an emergency in Chicago.”
That remark referred to a Washington, DC incident where a man threw a sandwich at a federal immigration officer. He was charged with a felony, but a grand jury later refused to indict.
Resistance isn’t just coming from politicians. Some National Guard soldiers have already voiced objections to similar deployments in Los Angeles and DC, even through official military media channels. In Illinois, troops are also expressing discontent.
“The National Guard has a sacred mission. We are part of the communities that we serve. We are the neighbors who show up when the flood hits, when the storms tear through the towns and when our country is in crisis,” said Illinois Guard member Demi Palecek.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
