As President Donald Trump signals his willingness to expand the domestic use of the U.S. military in his controversial immigration crackdown, two members of the Illinois National Guard have stated they would “absolutely” refuse any order to deploy to Chicago.
“I would definitely say no,” Staff Sgt. Demi Palecek, a state legislative candidate and Latina guardswoman, told CBS News. “I’m not going to go against my community members, my family, and my culture. I believe this is the time to be on the right side of history.”
Capt. Dylan Blaha, who is running for Congress in the same district, expressed similar views, comparing such actions to those of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. “There is a point where if you didn’t stand up to the Gestapo, are you just actively one of them now?” he asked.
Blaha said that enforcing a mandate against his own community isn’t what led him to join the military. “As members of the U.S. military, we swear an oath to defend the Constitution and protect the American people. I did not raise my right hand to be used as a pawn and activated against my community,” he explained.
When asked for comment, the National Guard’s public affairs director pointed to the standard oath taken by all enlisted and commissioned officers.
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Trump has faced widespread criticism for deploying National Guard units to major cities across the country, claiming the move is necessary to curb illegal immigration and apprehend criminals.
The federal use of the Guard on U.S. soil is complex, as command can shift between the president, state governors, or local authorities depending on the situation, according to The New York Times. In Democratic-led cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago, the Guard was deployed despite objections from governors, under federal command, the Times reported.
Last week, a federal judge delayed the deployment of the Guard to Chicago pending a final ruling or possible Supreme Court intervention, CBS News reported. The case is one of several lawsuits challenging these domestic deployments.
Despite legal and political resistance, Trump has remained defiant. On Tuesday, Oct. 28, he told U.S. troops at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan that his administration would send “even more than the National Guard” to cities if necessary, though he did not elaborate on what that would involve.
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For some Guard members, however, the idea of enforcing Trump’s orders remains unconscionable. “Many service members on active duty and in the National Guard have reached out to me privately to discuss their concerns with the increasing militarization of American cities,” Blaha said, adding that Trump’s use of the Guard “as his personal police force makes most soldiers uncomfortable, even if they’re too afraid to say it.”
“It’s disheartening to be forced to go against your community members and your neighbors,” Palecek told CBS News. “It feels illegal. This is not what we signed up to do.”
If a Guard member defies a lawful federal order, the consequences can include court-martial, felony-level discharge, or imprisonment, depending on the circumstances and chain of command.
Still, Blaha said he would feel “comfortable” standing his ground. “A federal court ruled that the National Guard deployment to Los Angeles in June violated the Posse Comitatus Act, so I would feel comfortable disobeying a similar unlawful order to deploy to Chicago,” he said.
