400 Texas National Guard Troops Headed to Illinois as ‘Chicago Has Become a War Zone’ [WATCH]

President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 400 Texas National Guard troops to Illinois, Oregon, and other states as federal agents face ongoing clashes with anti-ICE protesters, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Sunday night.

Pritzker, a Democrat, criticized the move and referred to it as “Trump’s invasion,” following an earlier mobilization of 300 California National Guard members to Portland, Oregon.

That city has seen more than 100 consecutive days of unrest outside an immigration detention center, a situation similar to protests that have gripped Chicago since early September.

The Illinois governor said his administration was not consulted before the announcement and denounced the deployment as overreach.

“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion,” Pritzker said in a post on X.

We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion. 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.

— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 6, 2025

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He urged “every American to speak up and help stop this madness.”

The brave men and women who serve in our national guards must not be used as political props. This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness.

— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 6, 2025

Pritzker said the plan disregards state sovereignty and claimed that federal officials had failed to coordinate with Illinois leadership.

“It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will not involve sending in another state’s military troops,” he wrote.

“I call on [Texas] Governor Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate.”

The governor accused President Trump of using the National Guard for political purposes and condemned the idea of sending troops into what he described as a “sovereign state” without approval.

I fully authorized the President to call up 400 members of the Texas National Guard to ensure safety for federal officials.

You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it.

No Guard can match the training, skill, and… https://t.co/7SUk9XlMBn

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) October 6, 2025

The decision follows weeks of unrest tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” an ongoing enforcement initiative launched last month targeting criminal illegal aliens in the Chicago area.

Federal officials have said the operation focuses on identifying and arresting individuals who relocated to Illinois to take advantage of the state’s sanctuary policies.

Local leaders, including Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, have publicly opposed the enforcement effort.

Despite their objections, protests have grown more violent, with demonstrators using vehicles to ram federal agents and block ICE operations.

The Department of Homeland Security reported that two such vehicular attacks occurred earlier in the week in the Chicago area.

On Saturday, U.S. Border Patrol agents patrolling Chicago’s South Side shot and wounded a woman who was armed during what officials described as a coordinated mob attack.

The confrontation took place approximately 15 miles from an ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois — an area that has become a focal point for anti-ICE demonstrations.

Since Friday, more than a dozen protesters have been arrested near the Broadview facility, according to reports from Fox News.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who traveled to Illinois on Friday to assess the situation, said the violence has reached a crisis point.

“Chicago has become a war zone,” she told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday.

Noem also alleged that local officials have obstructed federal agents by restricting their access to public facilities.

She recounted being denied entry to a government building in Broadview on Friday after requesting to use the restroom.

“They wouldn’t even let me in the building,” she said during the interview.

My team and I were just blocked from accessing the Village of Broadview Municipal Building in Illinois. We were stopping for a quick bathroom break. This is a public building. The Village of Broadview receives at least $1 million in federal funding every year.

This is how JB… https://t.co/vHxjSVh8LT

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) October 3, 2025

Federal authorities have not specified how long the Texas National Guard will remain deployed in Illinois or Oregon.

Officials have confirmed, however, that the mission’s immediate goal is to reinforce federal agents facing organized resistance to immigration enforcement operations in multiple states.

As of Sunday evening, coordination efforts were ongoing between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, with further briefings expected in the coming days.