Texas National Guardsmen Arrive in Illinois After Mobilization by Trump

CHICAGO—Members of the Texas National Guard have arrived in Illinois following their deployment by President Donald Trump.

The arrival of hundreds of guardsmen mobilized by the White House comes two days after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced on Oct. 5 that the administration was planning the move. The same day, a court blocked the deployment of California National Guardsmen to Portland, Oregon.

The administration’s moves come against a backdrop of clashes between protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in both parts of the country.

In an Oct. 6 lawsuit, Illinois sued the administration in a bid to delay the deployment, as Trump stepped up threats to send troops to Chicago, which the president said was a crime-ridden “war zone.”

The lawsuit states, “The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor.”

During a press conference on Monday, Pritzker called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to “immediately withdraw his support of this decision” to send the Texas National Guard to Illinois.

In a response on X, Abbott said he “fully authorized the President to call up 400 members of the Texas National Guard to ensure safety for federal officials.”

Currently, members of the Texas National Guard—whose deployment was approved by Abbott—are at a U.S. Army training center in Illinois.

On Monday, Abbott had posted a picture on social media showing Texas Guardsmen boarding a plane. He didn’t say then where they were going.

Members of the media congregated outside the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, Illinois, as workers installed protective fencing.

The Epoch Times observed multiple uniformed troops on the premises of the training center.

It was unclear whether the troops observed were with the Texas National Guard, as they were seen from a distance.

At one point, The Epoch Times observed a school bus leaving the premises with tinted windows.

Some troops held riot shields as they entered and exited structures on the base.

By shortly after 5 p.m. local time, a pair of armed troops were stationed at a driveway that led into the facility.

One protester held up a sign on the road outside the facility that read, “HANDS OFF CHICAGO—No Troops In Our Streets.”

The protester, James Richmond, told The Epoch Times he did not expect to see any other demonstrators.

“I just don’t think it’s good for our democracy,” he said of the events unfolding.

Trump’s moves met with some local support, too.

A man shouted, “Let’s go, Trump!” from the window of a moving car.

In comments, Pritzker described the deployment of troops to his state as the latest in an “authoritarian march” by Trump.

“We will use every lever at our disposal to stop this power grab,” Pritzker said, “because military troops should not be used against American communities.”

The National Guard’s presence in Chicagoland has not yet sparked large-scale protests in Broadview, home to an ICE facility that saw clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators over the past several days.

The scene there was calm on Tuesday evening. Only a small number of demonstrators had gathered.

At 6 p.m., law enforcement put an evening curfew near the ICE campus into effect. Protesters were permitted to keep up their tents, located around the corner from the facility, but could not head to the nearby protest zone to demonstrate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.