Illinois gov calls troops in U.S. cities ‘invasion’

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump’s ultimate aim in sending troops to American cities is to seize control of elections in 2026, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Sunday, calling such deployments “an invasion.”

Trump — who has unleashed unprecedented military patrols in Los Angeles to curb protests against his immigrant deportation drive and to Washington to combat what he deems out-of-control crime — has said he’s also considering sending troops to Baltimore, Chicago and other cities.

Democrat Pritzker said there had been no effort by the Trump administration to coordinate such plans with officials in Illinois, a Democratic stronghold. The other cities Republican Trump has threatened to send troops to are also controlled by his political rivals.

“He’d like to stop the elections in 2026 or, frankly, take control of those elections. He’ll just claim that there’s some problem with an election, and then he’s got troops on the ground that can take control,” Pritzker told CBS Sunday show “Face the Nation.”

The governor said any deployment of troops against his state government’s wishes would be “an invasion with US troops, if they in fact do that.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier told the network she would be adding resources to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Illinois, but that any decision to send National Guard reservists or other troops was up to Trump.

If troops are sent along with ICE, “they’ll be in court pretty quickly, because that is illegal,” Pritzker said.