President Donald Trump\u2019s administration plans to deploy 300 Illinois National Guard troops to the Chicago region for at least 60 days, according to a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Illinois National Guard leadership and obtained by the Tribune.<\/p>\n
In addition, likely hundreds of National Guard members from Texas were preparing to be sent to Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker said late Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States,\u201d Pritzker said, adding that the Illinois National Guard was informed of the Texas deployments and that no officials from the federal government had called him directly to discuss or coordinate. \u201cWe must now start calling this what it is: Trump\u2019s 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\u2019s military troops.\u201d<\/p>\n
The developments capped a weekend of rapid-fire moves by the Trump administration as it escalated its immigration enforcement actions in Illinois and in Oregon, where Trump moved to send National Guard troops from California to evade a federal judge\u2019s temporary restraining order. Late Sunday, that same judge during an emergency hearing again blocked Trump\u2019s efforts, issuing a ruling to stop the president\u2019s deployment of California National Guard troops to Portland.<\/p>\n
In his memo to the Illinois National Guard issued Saturday, Hegseth informed Guard leadership that up to 300 of its members will be called into federal service \u201ceffective immediately\u201d for a two-month period.<\/p>\n
The president called on guard members to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Protective Service and other federal government personnel \u201cwho are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where violent demonstrations against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations,\u201d the memo stated.<\/p>\n
Much of the historic move to federalize Illinois National Guard troops \u2014 over Pritzker\u2019s objections<\/a> \u2014 was laid out by Pritzker on Saturday and was soon defended by the White House, while Democrats slammed it as a power grab by the president to sow fear and division.<\/p>\n Saying the Trump administration issued him an ultimatum to \u201cCall up your troops, or we will,\u201d Pritzker said on Saturday that he would not deploy the state\u2019s National Guard and contended a federal deployment over his objection is illegal. He has also vowed to go to court to stop it, previously citing the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits the military from conducting law enforcement activities on U.S. soil.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Pritzker said Sunday that the governor has not communicated with Trump administration officials regarding the Illinois deployment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Governor did not receive any calls from any federal officials. The Illinois National Guard communicated to the Department of War that the situation in Illinois does not require the use of the military and, as a result, the Governor opposes the deployment of the National Guard under any status,\u201d the governor\u2019s spokesperson said in an emailed response.<\/p>\n