In the past week, immigration raids have escalated directly into West Chicago. On Sept. 15, multiple residents reported sightings of ICE vehicles near residential neighborhoods and local businesses. The Wildcat Chronicle confirmed these reports, noting that at least one family-owned restaurant was disrupted by federal agents.

“Me siento muy estresada, y muy preocupada y triste,” an anonymous immigrant living in West Chicago said. “I feel very stressed and worried and sad.”

Some students at West Chicago Community High School report that the fear of deployment has interfered with their focus at school.

“I worry a lot during school,” Jacky Gonzalez, a junior and the daughter of immigrants, said. “I have a lot of work to focus on, but I have been feeling very overwhelmed. It is a constant battle trying not to worry, but then seeing the news all the time.”

Other residents feel outraged by the recent threats of the Guard’s deployment.

“Seeing the National Guard being sent to ‘clean the streets’ but proceeding to racially profile people, including citizens for speaking Spanish or being brown. It feels like a huge setback,” Natalie Reyes, a West Chicago resident, said.

West Chicago has had a standing policy since February that unless ICE presents a federal warrant, the city and police will not assist in immigration enforcement. That position was reiterated in June and again during the September raids.

City officials underscored that commitment by joining residents in protest. West Chicago Mayor Daniel Bovey and his wife, Jody, stood alongside Illinois Sen. Karina Villa and community members at a Sept. 16 demonstration, speaking out against the raids and voicing support for immigrant families.

Villa, a WEGO graduate who now represents the area in the Illinois Senate, was among those responding on the ground. A video of Villa went viral on Sept. 15, showing her running down a West Chicago street urging residents to stay inside and not open their doors.

“Don’t open your doors if there’s not a warrant,” Villa said in both English and Spanish, confronting what appeared to be masked agents near a vehicle. “This is my city.”

Villa later told NBC 5 the agents had detained people in West Chicago, including at least one minor.

“These masked individuals came upon people with the color of my skin and picked them up,” she said. She added that arrests occurred outside a grocery store, at an apartment complex and even as a resident was walking on the street.

Villa’s confrontation underscored how visible the raids have become in her hometown, turning national immigration enforcement into an urgent, local reality for residents.

The raids in West Chicago are part of a broader enforcement surge across the region. Gov. JB Pritzker, speaking to NPR from Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, reiterated that Illinois law enforcement would not cooperate with federal forces.

The debate over Trump’s threats has also raised basic questions: what exactly is the National Guard, and when can it be deployed?

The National Guard is a subcomponent of the U.S. military that answers to both state governors and the president.

The Guard was formed in 1903 by the Militia Act, which restructured the state militias by providing funding, training, and a consistent organizational framework. This enabled the force to be properly prepared for both domestic and overseas missions.

The Guard responds to a wide variety of emergencies, including civil unrest, natural disasters, and support for military operations abroad.

It consists of two branches — the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard — which differ from the Air Force and Army.

At the federal level, the Guard is overseen by the National Guard Bureau, led by Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Guard serves in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Earlier this year, Trump deployed the Guard to Los Angeles following renewed ICE raids and protests.

Although the protests began peacefully, Trump labeled them “violent” and ordered in the Guard without consulting California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Videos soon surfaced of Guard members using tear gas and rubber bullets, fueling accusations of excessive force. On Sept. 2, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the deployment illegal. “In short, defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act,” Breyer wrote.

Trump also sent the Guard to Washington, D.C., last month, declaring a “public safety emergency.”

He argued the move was needed to reduce crime and homelessness, but BBC data showed crime in D.C. had actually fallen 20% in DC in 2025 compared to five years earlier.

Advocacy groups disputed Trump’s claims, and residents said the Guard’s presence made them feel unsafe. Protesters gathered outside the White House, chanting, “Trump must go now!”