Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on Sunday condemned plans by the Trump administration to send Texas National Guard troops to his state. Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sounded the alarm Sunday night over what he said is President Donald Trump’s plan to send Texas National Guard members to his state.
Pritzker, a Democrat, said in a statement that the Illinois National Guard was notified of an impending deployment by the Texas National Guard, calling on the state’s Republican governor to resist the move.
The deployment would be a notable escalation after a whirlwind 24 hours in Trump’s efforts to send federally controlled troops to cities to combat what he has described as unchecked crime and attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents – claims that local leaders have disputed. which local leaders have disputed. Trump’s plans for Illinois would mean a Republican president was sending National Guard troops from a GOP-led state to Democratic-led state over the objections of its leadership.
“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion,” Pritzker said in the statement. “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. ”
Pritzker said Trump is sending 400 members of the Texas National Guard to Illinois, Oregon and other locations.
Earlier on Sunday, a federal judge blocked Trump for the second time from sending National Guard troops under federal control to Portland. U.S. Judge Karin Immergut ruled that the Trump administration could not send federalized California National Guard Troops to Portland. She called the Trump administration’s move an attempt to bypass her earlier ruling Saturday that federalizing the Oregon National Guard was illegal.
A Department of Defense memo filed in court as part of the proceedings revealed military officials had called up Texas National Guard members for deployments to Illinois, Oregon and elsewhere.
Pritzker said Saturday that the Trump administration gave him an ultimatum: call up 300 Illinois National Guard troops for deployment to Chicago, or they would be placed under federal control.
With the Trump administration looking to Texas for troops, Pritzker urged Gov. Greg Abbott to refuse.
“The brave men and women who serve in our national guards must not be used as political props,” Pritzker said. “This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness.”
Abbott responded on X that he had authorized the deployment.
“You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it,” he said.
