Texas Deploys National Guard to Cities Ahead of ICE Protests

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Wednesday that he is deploying the National Guard to cities across the state to ensure peace and order, in anticipation of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

“Peaceful protest is legal,” Abbott wrote on social media platform X. “Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.”

Texas National Guard will use “every tool and strategy” to help law enforcement maintain order, the governor added.

The announcement comes amid ongoing unrest in California, where protests have erupted following a new round of ICE arrests in Los Angeles targeting illegal immigrants who were seeking day labor outside retail locations such as Home Depot.

The situation escalated in recent days, with downtown Los Angeles now under curfew after protests devolved into riots. Videos circulating online show rioters looting stores, setting cars on fire, and blocking freeway traffic.

In response, President Donald Trump called in thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to help quell the violence, pledging to “have troops everywhere” should riots spread beyond California. The move bypassed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had declined to activate the state’s National Guard. He later sued the Trump administration for what state officials described as an unlawful attempt to federalize the California National Guard.

A judge has denied Newsom’s emergency request to halt the deployment.

Abbott expressed support for Trump’s decision, writing on social media that federal law enforcement is facing an organized assault.

“It’s time to put an end to it, and allow fed officials to fully enforce the laws of the United States,” he wrote on X on Sunday.

In Texas, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the Capitol in Austin on Monday to show solidarity with the protests in Los Angeles. Police arrested five individuals on various charges, including felony criminal mischief and resisting arrest. The Texas Department of Public Safety said law enforcement used tear gas and pepper ball projectiles to “maintain order during the response.”

“Texas is a law-and-order state, and the department has zero tolerance for individuals disrupting public order or endangering law enforcement officers,” the agency said in a statement.

A similar protest was held later that night in downtown Dallas.

Protests are expected to continue across Texas this weekend, with rallies planned for Saturday, June 14, in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

The rallies coincide with Trump’s military parade in Washington, a celebration that also falls on the president’s birthday.

The protests are being organized by No Kings and 50501, two activist groups that have staged protests against Trump across the country since he took office in January.