President Trump is deploying 400 Texas National Guard troops to Illinois, Oregon, and other states as swarms of anti-ICE protesters continue to clash with federal agents, Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday night.<\/p>\n
The Illinois Democrat blasted Trump\u2019s \u201cinvasion\u201d hours after the president mobilized 300 California National Guard members to Portland<\/a>, where unrest has raged for over 100 consecutive days outside an immigration detention center \u2014 a scene that has been playing out in Chicago since September. <\/p>\n Pritzker said the plan defies his wishes, adding that federal officials haven\u2019t reached out to coordinate or discuss the deployment. <\/p>\n Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said President Trump is deploying 400 Texas National Guard Troops to Illinois. REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cWe must now start calling this what it is: Trump\u2019s Invasion,\u201d the governor said in a post on X<\/a>, encouraging \u201cevery American to speak up and help stop this madness.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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\u2019s military troops. I call on [Texas] Governor Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate.\u201d<\/p>\n The order comes after anti-ICE protesters have clashed with federal agents. ABLE URIBE\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Pritzker condemned Trump for wanting to send active-duty troops to a \u201csovereign state\u201d without permission, accusing the president of using the National Guard as \u201cpolitical props.\u201d<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n A violent wave of anti-ICE protests has intensified<\/a> in the Windy City since US Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched \u201cOperation Midway Blitz<\/a>\u201d last month, an initiative aimed at targeting criminal illegal immigrants who feds say flocked to Chicago to seek protection under the state\u2019s \u201csanctuary policies.\u201d<\/p>\n A violent wave of anti-ICE protests has intensified in the Windy City since September. Getty Images<\/p>\n The immigration enforcement operation has drawn pushback from Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other prominent local Democrats. <\/p>\n But despite their objection, demonstrations have escalated in recent days, with protesters using vehicles to attack ICE agents in the Chicago area, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which said agents were targeted twice in such a manner<\/a> one day earlier this week. <\/p>\n US Border Patrol agents patrolling Chicago\u2019s South Side on Saturday also opened fire and wounded a woman<\/a> \u2014 later found to be armed \u2014 after an angry mob attempted to attack the federal officers.<\/p>\n A federal law enforcement agent with a paintball gun in a turret. Getty Images<\/p>\n The agents were located about 15 miles from an ICE processing center in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, a site that\u2019s been a hotbed of civil unrest<\/a>, when the ambush began. <\/p>\n More than a dozen protesters have been arrested near the ICE facility since Friday, according to Fox News.<\/p>\n DHS Secretary Kristi Noem \u2014 who touched down in Illinois Friday morning \u2014 called Chicago a \u201cwar zone\u201d during an interview Sunday with \u201cFox & Friends Weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n A demonstrator wearing a \u201cFree Palestine\u201d T-shirt confronts police outside an immigrant processing and detention center. Getty Images<\/p>\n Noem also alleged that Chicago has been blocking federal law enforcement, including Border Patrol and ICE officers, from using public restrooms in the city.<\/p>\n