USA: National Guard from Texas arrived in Illinois

The arrival of soldiers from the Texas National Guard in Illinois marks a further escalation in the conflict between the US government and the state. The state’s governor, JB Pritzker, who has been opposing the deployment of National Guard troops at the behest of President Donald Trump for weeks, said on Tuesday that soldiers had been observed arriving from Texas. These were initially not visible on the streets of Chicago. The big question is: will this change soon?

US media unanimously reported that the soldiers were seen at a military facility in Elwood. This is almost 90 kilometers from downtown Chicago.

Late Monday evening (local time), Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted a photo on X of Texas National Guard soldiers boarding a plane – accompanied by the words: “Ready at any time. In action now.”

The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are trying to stop the deployment of National Guard troops on their territory in court, but have initially been unsuccessful. Pritzker indicated that he expected a court decision on Thursday.

The lawsuit states that the deployment of members of the National Guard to Illinois under orders from the US government is unlawful. Both National Guardsmen from Illinois and Texas are explicitly included.

It is still unclear whether and if so, when, where and for what National Guardsmen will be deployed in Illinois. Trump has been threatening to deploy soldiers to Chicago for weeks – against the wishes of city leaders and the state. Over the weekend, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered about 300 National Guardsmen from Illinois to be placed under federal control. They should therefore protect federal officials, such as the immigration authorities ICE, and federal property.

According to Pritzker, Trump also ordered 400 National Guard troops from Republican-controlled Texas to deploy to Illinois, Oregon and elsewhere in the United States. He spoke of “Trump’s invasion.”

The US government had already initiated a major operation by the immigration agency ICE in Chicago last month. This has met with a lot of criticism in the metropolis: people have been protesting against ICE raids there for weeks.

To push back protests against ICE raids, Trump sent soldiers to Los Angeles months ago. Weeks ago, the US President also ordered the National Guard to be deployed in the US capital Washington – but there to curb what he saw as escalating crime.

The example of Chicago now shows how these two justifications of the US government for military deployments at home are blurred: If the Defense Secretary’s order talks about protecting ICE officers, it was only on Tuesday that Trump again referred to crime that needs to be combated: “Chicago is a great city where there is a lot of crime, and if the governor can’t do his job, we will take it over.” he said at the White House.

Critics accuse Trump of using the National Guard to put on a show and to intimidate political opponents. They also warn against a normalization of military deployments at home.

In the United States, the governors of a state usually have control over the National Guard – only in times of war or national emergencies can the US president take command. As part of the US armed forces, the National Guard can generally be deployed in the event of natural disasters, civil unrest or domestic emergencies.