A portion of the 500 National Guard troops deployed to Chicago has officially started its mission, according to The Associated Press. The troops arrived in Illinois earlier this week.
According to U.S. Northern Command, 300 troops come from the Illinois National Guard and 200 from Texas. President Donald Trump deployed the troops for at least 60 days, despite an ongoing lawsuit challenging the move. Guards will temporarily reside approximately 50 miles southwest of Chicago, at the Army Reserve center in Elwood, outside Joliet.
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An “element” of the 200 Texas guard troops started working in Chicago on Wednesday night, a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command told AP on condition of anonymity.
The troops are there to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings, other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel.
Pritzker vs Trump
The deployment comes amid a lawsuit from the state of Illinois. On Thursday, a federal judge will hear arguments in the lawsuit seeking to block the troop deployment.
The lawsuit names Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll as defendants. It’s just part of the clash between Trump and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who have traded criticisms online.
In a Truth Social post, Trump called for Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s imprisonment for “failing to protect ICE officers.”
Pritzker fired back, saying he “will not back down,” accusing Trump of “full-blown authoritarianism.” The governor also made claims regarding Trump’s health, saying, “This is a man who’s suffering dementia.”
Johnson called the president’s comments racist. He said, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a black man unjustly arrested.”
Protests in Chicago
After the troops arrived in Chicago, protesters took to the streets to condemn the deployment. Straight Arrow News was on the scene and spoke to protesters along the way.
Chicago resident Angelina Echevarria, 23, said she has family members who are immigrants, and the recent deployments have impacted their mental health.
“The whole city is just being taken over, and I’m sick and tired of ICE being here, hurting my people,” Echevarria said. She added that she’s constantly scared of ICE, saying, “It’s always just in the back of my mind.”
Frank Ackerman, 61, said from his standpoint, Trump bringing Texas National Guard members to Illinois is “totally overkill.”
“This is a very safe city … Crime is down in the city,” Ackerman said. “We have laws in this country that are very clear about not using the military to do law enforcement.”
Ackerman told Straight Arrow News that, although he’s an American citizen, he has started carrying his passport with him because he’s half-Japanese.
“I could easily be swept up if someone looks at me [and goes] he’s not white,” Ackerman said. “That’s not right. That is not right at all.”
