Hundreds of Texas National Guard troops have arrived at an Army training center outside Chicago to support U.S. President Donald Trump’s intensified immigration crackdown — a move that has drawn sharp condemnation from Illinois officials and reignited constitutional debates over federal and state authority.
According to government sources, some of the troops may begin their assignments as early as Wednesday. Temporary housing trailers have been installed at the Army Reserve Training Center, located about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, with fencing erected around the facility late Tuesday night.
The deployment follows mounting tensions between the White House and several Democratic-led states over immigration enforcement. In recent weeks, protests have erupted outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Chicago, leading President Trump to describe the city as a “war zone” and justify sending reinforcements to “quell violence and protect federal property.”
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker denounced the move, calling it an “authoritarian march” by the Trump administration. “We will use every lever at our disposal to stop this power grab,” he said, accusing the federal government of exceeding its constitutional limits.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also condemned the deployment as “illegal, unconstitutional, and dangerous,” alleging that the administration was “undermining state sovereignty by handpicking National Guard troops from Texas and sending them to Illinois.”
In response, Illinois and the city of Chicago have filed a joint lawsuit challenging the federalisation of Texas National Guard troops, arguing that the action violates state control provisions. A federal judge has allowed the Chicago deployment to proceed temporarily, though similar operations in Portland were blocked last week.
Tensions escalated further after a weekend incident in which U.S. Border Patrol agents reportedly shot and injured a woman near immigration enforcement vehicles. The woman’s attorney has disputed parts of the government’s version of events, intensifying public outrage and anti-deportation protests across Chicago.
While the National Guard’s role is limited — they cannot make arrests, conduct searches, or seize property — their presence has raised fears of militarisation. Critics have compared the move to a prelude to martial law.
President Trump has suggested he may invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, which authorizes the use of active-duty military for domestic law enforcement. When asked about the possibility during a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump remarked, “If the governor can’t do the job, we’ll do the job.”
