President Trump is sending 400 Texas National Guard soldiers to Illinois, Oregon, and several other states as large groups of anti-ICE demonstrators keep confronting federal officers, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced on Sunday night.
The Democratic governor condemned what he called Trump's "invasion" just hours after the president ordered 300 California National Guard troops to Portland. The city has seen more than 100 straight days of unrest outside an immigration detention center, a situation similar to what's been unfolding in Chicago since September. Pritzker said he was opposed to the move and said that federal officials never contacted him to coordinate or even discuss the planned deployment of the troops.
Trump's Bold Move
"We must now start calling this what it is: Trump's Invasion," the governor said in a post on X, encouraging "every American to speak up and help stop this madness."
"It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will not involve sending in another state's military troops. I call on [Texas] Governor [Greg] Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate."
Pritzker slammed Trump for trying to send active-duty troops into what he called a "sovereign state" without consent, accusing the president of turning the National Guard into "political props."
Meanwhile, tensions in Chicago have escalated as anti-ICE protests grow more violent.
The unrest comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched "Operation Midway Blitz" last month — a federal effort aimed at tracking down criminal undocumented immigrants who officials claim have taken refuge in the city because of Illinois' "sanctuary" laws.
Strong Protests
The immigration crackdown has faced strong criticism from Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and other leading Democrats in the state. Despite their opposition, tensions have only grown in recent days.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, protesters in the Chicago area have begun using vehicles to ram ICE agents, with two such attacks reported just earlier this week.
On Saturday, U.S. Border Patrol agents patrolling Chicago's South Side opened fire and injured a woman who was later found to be armed, after an angry crowd tried to assault the officers.
The agents were roughly 15 miles away from an ICE processing center in Broadview, a Chicago suburb that has become a flashpoint for protests, when the attack took place.
Fox News reported that more than a dozen protesters have been arrested near the facility since Friday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who arrived in Illinois that morning, described Chicago as a "war zone" during an interview on Fox & Friends Weekend Sunday.
Noem also claimed that Chicago officials have been stopping federal law enforcement officers — including those from Border Patrol and ICE — from using public restrooms in the city.
She said that on Friday, she herself was refused entry into a government building in Broadview after asking to use the restroom.
