CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 An \u2018element\u2019 of 200 Texas National Guard troops has started protecting federal property in the Chicago area on Wednesday, according to a military spokesperson.<\/p>\n
The spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss operational details not been made public. The troops are in the city to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command said online.<\/p>\n
The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, had arrived at a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, and had been getting settled Tuesday<\/a>. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been activated for 60 days. The spokesperson wasn\u2019t able to immediately offer details about how the troops were armed. <\/p>\n A lawsuit and Democratic leaders have vigorously fought the deployment, and a hearing is set for Thursday. <\/p>\n President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, the nation\u2019s third-largest city, and protesters have frequently rallied<\/a> at an ICE building in Broadview. <\/p>\n U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis signaled Wednesday that she planned to restrict federal agents from using certain crowd control tactics, such as tear gas, against peaceful protesters and journalists who have regularly gathered at the Broadview building. In June, police declared a riot, and there have been smaller clashes since then.<\/p>\n Trump has been emphatic in sending the Guard to Democratic-run cities that he argues have a rampant crime crisis, though statistics don\u2019t always back that up. <\/p>\n In Memphis, a small group of troops were helping Wednesday with the Memphis Safe Task Force, said a state Military Department spokesperson who did not specify the exact role or number of the Guard members. The task force is a collection of about a dozen federal law enforcement agencies ordered by President Donald Trump to fight crime. <\/p>\n Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has welcomed the Guard, has said previously that he would not expect more than 150 Guard members<\/a> to be sent to the city.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, an appeals court has scheduled a hearing the same day over the government\u2019s desire to send the Guard to Portland, Oregon. A judge blocked that effort over the weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n