DHS accuses Illinois Gov Pritzker of spreading ‘smorgasbord of lies’

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accused Illinois Governor JB Pritzker of serving the American public a “Smorgasbord of Lies” as he released a list that said it “debunked” his claims about federal law enforcement operations in Chicago.

The federal pushback comes as Democratic Gov. and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson filed a lawsuit Monday to block the Trump administration from deploying hundreds of National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas to Chicago and surrounding cities.

“Our message to JB Pritzker: Get out of your mansion and see Chicago,” DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “If JB Pritzker walked the streets of his own city, he would see domestic terrorists and violent rioters attacking police officers and the scourge of violent crime as a direct result of his own policies.”

DHS added that it is “setting the record straight on Pritzker’s lies and defending the brave men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from his smears and smears.”

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Federal agents in an armored vehicle drive toward protesters near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) relaxation facility in Broadview, Illinois, October 3, 2025. At right is Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images)

At a news conference Monday, Pritzker said there has been an “unconstitutional invasion of Illinois by the federal government” and, “for weeks now, Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and [Commander at Large of the U.S. Border Patrol] Gregory Bovino brought his militarized CBP and ICE agents to the streets of Chicago to cause violence and chaos in that city. ”

However, DHS said the “reality” is that, “this is neither unconstitutional nor an invasion.”

“President Trump has the authority under the Constitution to deploy troops, wherever stationed, to defend federal installations from attack,” he added in response to Pritzker’s first claim on the list. “Whether it’s the ICE facility in Broadview or the courthouse in Portland, we will defend federal assets wherever they are under siege.”

During an appearance on CNN on Monday, Pritzker said: “People are being detained, they are being arrested: Americans. [Chicago]. One hundred and thirty people, they were emptied from this building. They were going after some gang members, and instead they broke the windows, they broke the doors, they trashed the place… They’re the ones making it a war zone. ”

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Law enforcement officers detain a protester near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, Friday, October 3, 2025. (AP/Erin Hooley)

“Law enforcement conducted a targeted operation at an apartment building in the South Shore community of Chicago,” DHS said in response. “This operation, led by CBP, FBI and ATF, resulted in the arrest of 37 illegal aliens, from countries including Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia and Nigeria. Among them, members of the Tren de Aragua gang and violent criminals.”

“DHS has consistently debunked the absurd claim that DHS targets U.S. citizens during ICE operations. ICE does not arrest or deport U.S. citizens. All U.S. citizens arrested are due to law enforcement obstruction or assault,” he also said.

Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The Illinois governor said Monday: “On September 12, Ice shot and killed a man in Franklin Park, a suburb near Chicago. His name was Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. Reports indicate he had just dropped his children off at a daycare and was heading to work.”

“Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was an illegal alien who, when ordered by law enforcement to stop his car, instead drove his car at the officers. One of the officers’ ice was struck by the car and resulted in a significant distance. Fearing for his own life and broader public safety, the officer discharged his weapon,” according to DHS. “Despite his injuries, the officer and his partner immediately began administering emergency medical care to the illegal alien, who was pronounced dead. Villegas-Gonzalez, who was the target of the operation, was a criminal illegal alien with a history of reckless driving.”

Federal law enforcement agents smash protesters outside an immigration processing center with a barrage of tear gas and pepper bullets September 27, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (Getty Images)

Pritzker then added: “In the small suburban village of Broadview, with a population of 8,000, federal agents turned two blocks of protest zones into a war zone by firing tear gas and chemical agents into peaceful protesters.”

“Riots against DHS and other law enforcement agencies in Illinois have been anything but peaceful. Over the weekend, Border Patrol law enforcement officers were ambushed by domestic terrorists who rammed their vehicles into federal agents,” Homeland Security said. “A woman, Marimar Martinez, driving one of the vehicles, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and has a history of doxxing federal agents. She took defensive fire from CBP officers, was released from the hospital, and is currently in FBI custody. The driver of another vehicle, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, involved in the ramming, brought the law. “

Pritzker also said Monday that “peaceful protesters have been tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets. Journalists simply reporting the facts on the ground have been targeted and arrested. American citizens, including children, have been traumatized and detained. This escalation of violence is targeted and intentional and premeditated.

“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS takes reasonable and constitutional steps to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers,” DHS said in response. “ICE officers are facing a nearly 1,000% increase in assaults on them as they put their lives on the line to stop murderers, violent offenders and gang members. We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind us that journalists covering illegal activities in the area come with risks – although our officers take every right reasonable precautions to mitigate these dangers in order to exercise rights of reasonable protection.”

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President Donald Trump’s administration has clashed with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker over the deployment of the National Guard to the Chicago area. (Getty Images)

During his CNN interview with host Jake Tapper, Pritzker also said, “These are raid neighborhoods, where instead of going after the bad guys, they’re picking up people who are brown and [B]Miss then check their references. “

“Since Operation Midway Blitz began in Illinois last month, ICE and CBP officers have arrested more than 1,000 illegal aliens – including the worst of the worst pedophiles, child molesters, kidnappers, gang members and armed robbers,” DHS said. “We have also arrested several members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and illegal aliens with criminal histories that include drug trafficking, child rape and murder, among other violent convictions of racial or ethnic origin.”

And finally, Pritzker said, “There were people being detained, elderly people and children linked to children and elderly people being detained for three hours at a time,” during the South Bank operation.

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“The claim that a toddler was tied to a zip came from a screenshot that went viral, with the original poster claiming it showed an ice officer matching a child. This has been debunked: the screenshot in question came from a spoof video on Tiktok image for entertainment, where the officer in the video was the father of the Toddler seen in the image,” according to DHS.

Breanne Deppisch of Fox News contributed to this report.