CHICAGO — The Texas National Guard has arrived in the Chicago area despite the objections of local officials.
Texas National Guard members are in a facility in suburban Joliet as of Tuesday morning, Gov. JB Pritzker told a Block Club reporter. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared a picture on X of guardsmen getting on a plane Monday night, though he did not say where they were going.
The federal government — over Pritzker’s objections — announced plans this weekend to federalize the Illinois National Guard and call up 300 troops. On Saturday, news broke that another 400 guardsmen from Texas were also going to be sent to Chicago and other Democratic-run cities. Federal officials have said the troops will “protect” ICE agents and facilities in Illinois.
Local officials, including Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, have repeatedly said they do not want the National Guard deployed in the area. The city and state have sued the federal government to stop the Trump administration from deploying the troops here.
“No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate,” Pritzker said in a statement. “We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops.”
U.S. District Judge April Perry, during a Monday hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago, refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops. Perry instead ordered the Justice Department to respond to the lawsuit in two days and scheduled a Thursday hearing before she rules on the state’s request for a temporary restraining order against the deployment.
Perry also asked if the federal government could delay deploying troops. Justice Department lawyer Eric Hamilton told her, “I am not able to represent that we will do that.”
The arrival of guardsmen has set the stage for a political showdown between local officials and President Donald Trump, who has frequently made Chicago the target of verbal attacks while butting heads with Pritzker and city leaders.
Officials and Chicago residents have already voiced concerns about recent federal activity in and around the city, saying it’s created fear and confusion while escalating violence.
A coach bus departs the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. Credit: Talia Sprague/Block Club Chicago
In September, ICE and Border Patrol launched operations Midway Blitz and At Large, which are supposed to focus on arresting and removing undocumented immigrants with serious criminal histories.
RELATED: When Will ICE Leave Chicago? ‘No End Date’ For Operation Midway Blitz, Field Director Says
But over the past month, federal agents have shot at least two people, killing one; repeatedly tear-gassed protesters and first responders; shot rubber bullets at protesters; detained U.S. citizens, including children; handcuffed a Chicago alderperson in a hospital; smoke bombed and tear-gassed a Chicago street; fired a chemical weapon at a TV reporter and detained a journalist, among other things.
Officials have also expressed concerns about Trump taking control of the National Guard — deployments are typically only done at the request of a state’s governor — and forcing federal troops into Illinois against the wishes of elected leaders and residents.
“Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his effort to militarize our cities,” Pritzker said at a Monday news conference.
Federal officials have said the troops will be used to protect ICE facilities as agents have faced violence.
Federal agents have faced numerous protests in and around Chicago, with most centered on an ICE processing facility in suburban Broadview.
There, federal agents have repeatedly tear gassed and shot pepper balls and rubber bullets at the protesters — even as Broadview officials have demanded they stop and said the agents are harming local police officers, firefighters, paramedics and neighbors. The village is now suing the federal government for putting up an illegal fence near the facility.
Pritzker said the state’s priority is protecting residents exercising their First Amendment rights amid what he described as escalating federal aggression in Illinois. He said Illinois State Police have been deployed to “stand between ICE officials, [Border Patrol] officials and peaceful protesters” to prevent further violence and will continue to do so.
Pritzker also said the state is documenting incidents of alleged abuse and deploying child welfare and human services agencies to investigate cases where families and children may have been harmed by federal operations.
“We will record everything,” he said. “We are trying to record as many things as we can … make sure there is video and testimony to what these federal agents are doing.”
A defense contractor told Tribune reporters he had set up facilities for about 250 people where the National Guard troops are staying, but he did not know how long the troops are expected to stay. The deployments are expected to last at least 60 days, according to the Tribune.
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