Duckworth, Durbin, Schneider Press Trump Administration for Answers, Written Confirmation on Use of Naval Station Great Lakes

Duckworth, Durbin, Schneider Press Trump Administration for Answers, Written Confirmation on Use of Naval Station Great Lakes

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) today are expressing their opposition to the Administration's use of Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL) for support to federal law enforcement operations in Illinois and demanding written confirmation of how the installation is being used. In a letter sent to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem today, the members are calling on the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide answers after DHS's refusal to meet with the members at NSGL last week.

"We are gravely concerned about the decision by the Secretary of Defense to designate U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) installation Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL) as a staging location for U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel for federal law and immigration enforcement operations," the Members wrote. "This decision undermines the integrity of the base's mission as a training facility for the U.S. Navy and the service's sole boot camp. We are deeply concerned that this decision will hinder our military's readiness while sparking confusion and fear in the communities we represent. We urge you not to use our servicemembers and facilities in pursuit of partisan ends instead of our national interest. "

The Members continued, "We visited NSGL because your agencies were uncooperative in our constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the executive branch of government. We were shocked that DHS refused to meet with us. This Administration's contempt for any oversight of its actions was further underscored by the flippant act of locking the doors to deny Members of Congress access to the office building that DHS is set to occupy. We are concerned that the agencies you oversee would not be operating in secrecy if their actions were legal and defensible."

The Members are requesting the following documents from DOD and DHS:

• Documentation regarding DoD's approval of DHS's Request for Assistance, to include written confirmation of the start and end date of DHS presence on NSGL and written confirmation that any such presence will be funded entirely by DHS.

• Copies of all formal or informal communications - including emails, texts, chats, memoranda or other documents - between DHS and DoD discussing requests for DHS support at NSGL since January 2025.

• Copies of all internal DoD records since January 2025 discussing the range of possible requests for NSGL related support to Federal law enforcement, including NSGL's ability to support DHS personnel or active-duty personnel, as well as copies of all internal DHS records since January 2025 discussing the range of possible requests of NSGL to support DHS operations in Illinois.

• Copies of all formal or informal communications since January 2025 to and from NSGL personnel - including emails, texts, memoranda or other documents - related to available support NSGL could provide to DHS and any installation-level risk assessment of that support and any additional support.

• Copies of any formal or informal communications since January 2025 - including emails, texts, memoranda or other documents - internal to DHS, internal to DoD and between DoD and DHS regarding providing facilities on NSGL to DHS for any purpose.

• Written confirmation that no resources currently allocated to or personnel stationed at NSGL will be redirected to support DHS's activities.

• Written confirmation that no DHS-managed lethal munitions will be stored on NSGL.

• Written confirmation that no individuals apprehended by DHS will be detained on NSGL.

• Written confirmation that no personnel from NSGL will be asked to assist DHS in any way related to arresting, detaining, or engaging in federal law and immigration enforcement against individuals.

• Written confirmation that no housing accommodations will be provided to DHS personnel.

• Records of any guidance DoD has provided to servicemembers assigned to NSGL regarding appropriate interactions with DHS personnel and Federal agents.

• Records of any guidance DHS has provided to its personnel regarding its operations on and out of NSGL.

• Written confirmation that DHS personnel will wear clear labels identifying themselves and their organizational affiliation when within NSGL grounds, entering and exiting NSGL and operating in Illinois.

• Copies of all formal or informal communications - including emails, texts, memoranda or other documents - within and between your agencies discussing possible deployments or mobilization of Active-Duty, National Guard or Reserve forces in Illinois since January 2025.

Last week Duckworth, Durbin and Schneider visited Naval Station Great Lakes amid President Trump's plans to support DHS officers and his threats to deploy the military to Chicago. During the lawmakers' meeting at the base, they were taken through the process of how the Naval Station Great Lakes' involvement with President Trump's plans came to be, but the Members' request for a meeting with DHS officials was denied. They were also locked out of the office space that DHS intends to use after requesting entry.

Duckworth and Durbin have previously called on Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary Noem, Secretary Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, requesting immediate information regarding President Trump's imminent actions to send the military and increase federal law enforcement presence in Chicago and on President Trump to demand that he and the Pentagon suspend plans for the deployment of military personnel to Chicago.

Full text of the letter is available below and on the Senator's website.

Dear Secretary Hegseth and Noem:

We are gravely concerned about the decision by the Secretary of Defense to designate U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) installation Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL) as a staging location for U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel for federal law and immigration enforcement operations. This decision undermines the integrity of the base's mission as a training facility for the U.S. Navy and the service's sole boot camp. We are deeply concerned that this decision will hinder our military's readiness while sparking confusion and fear in the communities we represent. We urge you not to use our servicemembers and facilities in pursuit of partisan ends instead of our national interest.

We are further concerned by reports that DoD's support is based on verbal agreements instead of standard written ones. Verbal agreements are susceptible to mission creep, vulnerable to being incorrectly and poorly communicated, and prevent transparency and accountability to American taxpayers and their elected representatives. This Administration has demonstrated unprecedented, insulting disregard towards our country's laws and norms, undermining the American people's rights and our democracy itself. The announced surge of federal law and immigration enforcement activity in Chicago has been conducted in an ad hoc, unprofessional manner that dodges constitutionally-established oversight and accountability to the citizens of this country.

On August 28, 2025, DHS requested DoD assistance at NSGL, including office spaces and storage of less than lethal munitions for DHS personnel. We have received no official notification from DoD about the approval of this request or any associated plans.

We visited NSGL because your agencies were uncooperative in our constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the executive branch of government. We were shocked that DHS refused to meet with us. This Administration's contempt for any oversight of its actions was further underscored by the flippant act of locking the doors to deny Members of Congress access to the office building that DHS is set to occupy. We are concerned that the agencies you oversee would not be operating in secrecy if their actions were legal and defensible.

While Navy leadership did meet openly and helpfully with us during and after our visit, sharing details of NSGL's current scope of support for DHS, we were deeply concerned to hear that these specifics have only been captured in verbal agreements. This sort of unofficial, handshake agreement is not sufficient for operations as sensitive as these. Our understanding from our visit was that DoD support to DHS at NSGL will be confined to reimbursable support in the form of storage for non-lethal munitions and office space, with no access to housing or storage of lethal munitions.

We are deeply concerned that DoD may be supporting federal law enforcement actions that have not been coordinated with local and state authorities. We believe that common sense limits on DOD support for DHS at NSGL are important for reassuring the local community and minimizing impacts to the Navy's mission. And of course, we insist that any such guardrails must be in writing.

In order to continue in our oversight role, we ask that you furnish us with the following documents as they relate to planned DHS operations at or out of NSGL by September 18, 2025:

Documentation regarding DoD's approval of DHS's 28 August Request for Assistance, to include written confirmation of the start and end date of DHS presence on NSGL and written confirmation that any such presence will be funded entirely by DHS.

Copies of all formal or informal communications - including emails, texts, chats, memoranda or other documents - between DHS and DoD discussing requests for DHS support at NSGL since January 2025.

Copies of all internal DoD records since January 2025 discussing the range of possible requests for NSGL related support to Federal law enforcement, including NSGL's ability to support DHS personnel or active-duty personnel, as well as copies of all internal DHS records since January 2025 discussing the range of possible requests of NSGL to support DHS operations in Illinois.

Copies of all formal or informal communications since January 2025 to and from NSGL personnel - including emails, texts, memoranda or other documents -- related to available support NSGL could provide to DHS and any installation-level risk assessment of that support and any additional support.

Copies of any formal or informal communications since January 2025 - including emails, texts, memoranda or other documents - internal to DHS, internal to DoD and between DoD and DHS regarding providing facilities on NSGL to DHS for any purpose.

Written confirmation that no resources currently allocated to or personnel stationed at NSGL will be redirected to support DHS's activities.

Written confirmation that no DHS-managed lethal munitions will be stored on NSGL.

Written confirmation that no individuals apprehended by DHS will be detained on NSGL.

Written confirmation that no personnel from NSGL will be asked to assist DHS in any way related to arresting, detaining, or engaging in federal law and immigration enforcement against individuals.

Written confirmation that no housing accommodations will be provided to DHS personnel.

Records of any guidance DoD has provided to servicemembers assigned to NSGL regarding appropriate interactions with DHS personnel and Federal agents.

Records of any guidance DHS has provided to its personnel regarding its operations on and out of NSGL.

Written confirmation that DHS personnel will wear clear labels identifying themselves and their organizational affiliation when within NSGL grounds, entering and exiting NSGL and operating in Illinois.

Copies of all formal or informal communications - including emails, texts, memoranda or other documents - within and between your agencies discussing possible deployments or mobilization of Active-Duty, National Guard or Reserve forces in Illinois since January 2025.

We strongly urge your agencies to reverse the decision to allow a staging presence for DHS at NSGL and any other military installation in Illinois. We oppose any wasteful diversion of attention and taxpayer dollars away from the core mission of NSGL and any other military installations toward unrelated law enforcement activities and the intimidation of our communities.

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