Hundreds of National Guard soldiers from Texas have arrived at an army facility outside Chicago, as part of Donald Trump’s threat to deploy troops targeting Democratic-led cities.
On Sunday, the US president ordered the deployment of 300 National Guard soldiers to America’s third-largest city, prompting a strong response from local protestors and politicians.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has accused Mr Trump of using troops as “political props” and “pawns”.
On Monday, Illinois’ attorneys failed in a legal attempt to block their deployment, which they labelled “illegal, dangerous and unconstitutional”.
‘Ready to go’
“The elite Texas National Guard are on the ground and ready to go,” said Greg Abbott, Republican governor of Texas, in a post on X.
“They are putting America first by ensuring that the federal government can safely enforce federal law.”
Armed Border Patrol agents have been making arrests in an immigration crackdown that began last month, targeting immigrant-heavy and largely Latino areas, which has prompted a series of protests.
In September, in a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump shared an AI-generated image of himself as a military officer in the movie Apocalypse Now, with the title changed to “Chipocalypse Now” over flames and the city skyline.
The post – a screenshot from X – said: “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning…’.
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‘Aggressive overreach’
Officials in Will County, southwest of Chicago, said they were not warned by the federal government about the deployment at the US Army Reserve Centre in Elwood.
“The arrival of the National Guard by the Trump Administration is an aggressive overreach. Our federal government moving armed troops into our community should be alarming to everyone,” said Will County’s executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant.
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National Guard troops are state-based militia who normally answer to local governors and are often deployed in response to natural disasters.
While the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws is limited, Mr Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
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The National Guard’s exact mission in Illinois was not immediately clear, although the Trump administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building outside Chicago in Broadview.
The president repeatedly has described Chicago in hostile terms, calling it a “hell hole” of crime, although police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including murders.
Following Mr Trump’s earlier deployment of troops to Los Angeles and Washington DC, he has also ordered soldiers to Portland, Oregon, which he has described as a “war zone”.
None have been deployed there yet, as a legal battle between his administration and Oregon is waged in the courts.
Local Democratic governor Tina Kotek has insisted there is “no insurrection” in the state.
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The US president has defied staunch opposition from Democratic mayors and governors, who say his claims of lawlessness and violence do not reflect reality.
However, troops are also being sent to Memphis, where they would be welcomed by Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee. He said they will “play a critical support role” for local law enforcement.
