On October 16, 2025, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued a stark warning to senior members of President Donald Trump’s administration, signaling that the shield of presidential immunity protecting those behind the administration’s controversial immigration enforcement tactics won’t last forever. In a candid interview on MSNBC, Pritzker named White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, border czar Tom Homan, and Customs and Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino as individuals whose actions during the ongoing crackdown on immigration will not be forgotten or ignored by future lawmakers.
“All these people need to recognize, you may have immunity because Donald Trump’s willing to pardon anybody who’s carrying out his unlawful orders,” Pritzker declared, according to MSNBC. “But you’re not going to have it under another administration.” He went further, suggesting that accountability could come for those “clearly ordering people to break the law,” explicitly singling out Miller, who has orchestrated much of the administration’s hardline approach in cities like Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Chicago.
The governor’s comments came amid a period of heightened tension in Chicago, where federal immigration authorities, backed by National Guard troops deployed at Trump’s direction, have carried out aggressive operations. Critics, including legal experts and local officials, have described these tactics as unconstitutional and a violation of civil liberties. Pritzker, a vocal opponent of the federal deployments, has repeatedly condemned the administration’s actions as both unlawful and deeply destabilizing to communities.
“It’s not like we’re going to forget, and it’s not like we don’t have a record of what they’re doing,” Pritzker said, underscoring his point that future administrations could pursue legal consequences for those involved at every level, including ICE agents. He also alluded to the possibility of state-level prosecutions—even while Trump remains in office—by exploring options with county state’s attorneys and the Illinois attorney general. “If agents throw a tear gas canister out of the car at a person on the roadside, that… is a violation of Illinois law,” Pritzker explained, referencing state statutes on reckless conduct and bans on chokeholds by law enforcement or anyone “acting under color of law.”
The confrontation between Pritzker and Miller quickly escalated into a public war of words. Miller, who has directed much of the president’s immigration enforcement, lashed out in response, branding Pritzker a “moron” who “hates America,” and adding, “You can’t love your country and then fight President Trump.” The exchange highlighted the deep divisions over immigration policy and the use of federal force in American cities.
On the same day as Pritzker’s warning, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jeremy Raskin (D-Md.) led 18 Democratic lawmakers in sending a letter to the Trump administration, demanding an immediate halt to what they described as an “unlawful and violent enforcement campaign” in the Chicagoland region. According to the statement from Raskin’s office, federal agents had, in recent weeks, shot two people, handcuffed a local alderperson at a hospital, deployed tear gas near a public school, placed a handcuffed man in a chokehold, shot a pastor in the head with a pepper ball, thrown flashbang grenades at civilians, and raided an apartment complex—detaining U.S. citizens, children, and military veterans for hours.
The letter, addressed to President Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons, asserted, “The Administration claims the mantle of law and order, yet its actions in the Chicagoland area demonstrate it is a catalyst for lawlessness and dysfunction.” The lawmakers argued that such tactics “do nothing to make anyone safer—in fact, it jeopardizes the safety and well-being of every community member.” They called for a return to “common-sense” approaches to public safety and immigration, rather than “violent tactics that traumatize and destabilize communities.”
Meanwhile, federal immigration operations in Chicago and elsewhere have drawn the scrutiny of the courts. On October 9, U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) limiting the actions of federal officers during protests in northern Illinois. According to CBS News, the TRO barred agents from arresting or threatening to arrest journalists without probable cause, from using physical force on them, and from issuing crowd-dispersal orders except in exigent circumstances. After reports and videos surfaced showing continued use of tear gas and pepper balls during immigration operations, Judge Ellis summoned ICE’s Chicago field director, Russell Hott, to court over alleged non-compliance and ordered that immigration officers in the Chicago area must wear body cameras during enforcement and protest-adjacent activities.
Further legal pushback came on October 16, when an appeals court upheld an order blocking the White House from deploying National Guard troops in Illinois. The court ruled that “political opposition is not rebellion” and found the record did not justify such extraordinary federal intervention. Despite these judicial orders, local officials and courts have noted multiple instances where federal agents allegedly defied directives, prompting further hearings and the tightening of restrictions on federal law enforcement.
Pritzker’s critique extended beyond the legality of the federal crackdown, touching on questions of presidential leadership and capacity. He openly questioned Trump’s mental fitness, suggesting that those around him—especially Miller—were “taking advantage” of the president’s “diminished capacity.” “It’s clear that Donald Trump has diminished capacity… I think it’s sad that the people around him are not getting him help, and instead they’re just taking advantage of him,” Pritzker told MSNBC. He described Miller as “a dangerous individual” who wields the power of the presidency unchecked, adding, “He’s the one who’s advising [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem at DHS. He’s the one who’s advising Tom Homan, who’s the kind of immigration czar, deportation czar. And of course, he’s the spokesperson for this entire endeavor, including about deploying National Guard into cities.”
Pritzker’s allegations about Trump’s mental state were echoed by a psychologist who told The Daily Beast Podcast in September that signs of Trump’s cognitive deterioration—such as verbal slips, meandering thoughts, and confusion at public events—are “readily apparent,” though no official diagnosis has been made. The White House has not commented on these claims.
As the legal and political battles over immigration enforcement continue, the debate has become a flashpoint for broader questions about the limits of executive power, the role of federal law enforcement in American cities, and the accountability of those who carry out controversial policies. With state and federal courts now imposing new restrictions, and with political leaders vowing to pursue accountability, the coming months promise further clashes—and perhaps, as Pritzker warned, a reckoning for those who believed immunity would shield them indefinitely.
For now, Chicago remains at the center of a national struggle over the rule of law, executive authority, and the rights of communities to resist what many see as heavy-handed and unlawful federal intervention.