As former President Donald Trump signals his willingness to intensify the domestic use of U.S. military forces as part of his controversial immigration crackdown, two members of the Illinois National Guard have declared that they would “absolutely” refuse any order to deploy to Chicago.
“I would definitely say no,” said Staff Sgt. Demi Palecek, a Latina guardswoman and state legislative candidate, in an interview with 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 also running for Congress in the same district, shared the same view and compared such orders to actions taken by 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 emphasized that enforcing a federal mandate against his own community is not what motivated 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,” he explained in an email. “I did not raise my right hand to be used as a pawn and activated against my community.”
A spokesperson for the National Guard pointed reporters to the oath taken by both enlisted soldiers and officers, like Blaha and Palecek, without offering additional comment.
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Federal Deployment Controversy
Trump has drawn waves of criticism for deploying the National Guard to major U.S. cities, claiming the move is necessary to combat illegal immigration and crime. However, the legality of such deployments is complex. The National Guard can be commanded by the president, a state’s governor, or the state itself depending on the circumstances, according to The New York Times.
In Democratic-led cities like Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago, Trump ordered deployments through federal authority despite objections from governors, the Times reported.
Last week, a federal judge delayed the Guard’s deployment to Chicago until a final ruling is issued or the Supreme Court intervenes, according to CBS News. The delay is part of a growing number of lawsuits challenging the use of federal troops on domestic soil.
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Despite widespread objections, Trump has remained resolute. On Oct. 28, during remarks to U.S. troops at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, he stated that his administration is prepared to send “more than the National Guard” to cities if necessary—though he did not elaborate on what that would entail.
Ethical Concerns Among Soldiers
For many Guard members, the president’s directive has sparked deep moral conflict. “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.”
Defying a lawful federal order can carry severe penalties, including court-martial, felony-level discharge, or imprisonment, depending on who issues the command and the nature of the order.
Even so, Blaha said he would feel “comfortable” refusing what he views as an unlawful deployment. “A federal court ruled that the National Guard deployment to Los Angeles in June violated the Posse Comitatus Act,” he said. “So I would feel comfortable disobeying a similar unlawful order to deploy to Chicago.”
