Dozens of Indiana National Guard members will be mobilized to assist immigration enforcement operations throughout the state, WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, reported.
About 50 members will be deployed by mid-September, and they won’t conduct law enforcement duties or make arrests, a state spokesperson said.
The troops will rather be focused on “administrative logistics and support tasks,” including answering phones, data entry, basic vehicle maintenance and tracking fleet expenses, officials said. Louisiana recently announced a similar move, mobilizing nearly 100 members of its National Guard to assist with administrative duties.
In Chicago, National Guard members won’t be deployed as ramped-up immigration enforcement is slated to begin this weekend. At least 300 federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and other agencies are expected to arrive at the Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago as part of the Trump Administration’s enhanced operations.
Vice President JD Vance was recently asked about the possibility of the National Guard coming to Chicago to fight crime or aid in immigration enforcement.
“There are no immediate plans, but the president has said he has the legal authority to protect American citizens, whether that’s in Chicago or Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Earlier this week, NBC Chicago Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern asked Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, “Can the National Guard in Illinois be called when you haven’t called them?”
“They can be. They can be federalized, but the purposes only can be, according to the law, for them to be sent overseas to protect us, which our National Guard does all the time, or if there’s an emergency. Truly an emergency on the ground, an insurrection on the ground,” he said.
Pritzker noted that President Donald Trump could also call the National Guard from another state, where the governor might be more sympathetic to his cause. However, Pritzker said, that would also be illegal, and the court system seems to be in agreement with Pritzker’s assessment. On Tuesday morning, a federal judge said Trump’s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles was illegal.