President Donald Trump plans to deploy 400 members of the Texas National Guard to Illinois, Oregon and other states, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Sunday night.
Pritzker made the announcement in a news release on Sunday evening, a day after he revealed Trump intended to nationalize hundreds of National Guard members against the wishes of state officials.
In his statement Sunday night, the governor said no one from the federal government called him directly to discuss or coordinate.
“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion,” he said, in part. “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…”
According to a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and obtained through a court filing, up to 400 members of the Texas National Guard will be called into service in Chicago and Portland “for up to 60 days with the potential for an extension.”
Along with the deployment of Texas troops, Trump is calling at least 300 Illinois National Guard members into service “effective immediately for a period of 60 days” to protect federal buildings in the state, according to a copy of a Pentagon memo first reported by the Chicago Tribune and shared with NBC News by an Illinois official.
Pritzker said Trump’s Department of War gave him what he called “an ultimatum” to either call up National Guard members or to have those members nationalized.
The Department of Homeland Security previously requested up to 100 troops to be deployed to Illinois to protect ICE assets and agents, the governor’s office said.
Pritzker called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to withdraw support for Trump’s decision on the deployment, prompting Abbott to reply on social media.
“…You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it…” he said, in part.
Following news of the deployment, Mayor Brandon Johnson also posted on X, writing, “…National Guard troops from Texas will only serve to further escalate the Trump administration’s reckless and unconstitutional attack on our city…”
Pritzker and Johnson have long opposed calling up National Guard members for law enforcement purposes, a move that Trump has repeatedly threatened in recent months.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker spoke on Monday in response President Donald Trump’s threats to send the National Guard to Chicago, saying there is “no emergency” that requires him to deploy military to the city.
“I want to be clear: there is no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois. State, county, and local law enforcement have been working together and coordinating to ensure public safety around the Broadview ICE facility, and to protect people’s ability to peacefully exercise their constitutional rights. I will not call up our National Guard to further Trump’s acts of aggression against our people,” Pritzker said.
Trump has repeatedly insisted he has the authority to send the National Guard to Chicago despite a California court ruling he overstepped his authority in sending members to Los Angeles during protests and unrest there earlier this year.
He had indicated a desire to send the National Guard to Chicago and multiple other cities, but later backtracked on the idea, saying that Pritzker and other officials would have to ask for such assistance.
“We could straighten out Chicago — all they have to do is ask us,” he told reporters. “I want to go into Chicago, and I have this incompetent governor who doesn’t want us.”
Pritzker has long opposed such a move, and has insisted that he would not request such assistance.
“He wants to set into the fact pattern that the governor called him to ask for help. Why? Because he’s going to end up in court,” Pritzker said. “He’s going to end up in court, and that will be a fact that they will use in court. That the governor called to ask for help, and I’m sorry I’m not going to provide him with evidence to support his desire to have the court rule in his favor. I’m just not going to do that.”
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