Members of the Texas National Guard arrive in Illinois; sources say troops could begin missions Wednesday

Members of the Texas National Guard have begun arriving at a U.S. Army Reserve center in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, where they are expected to participate in training before being sent on missions to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and facilities.

On Tuesday afternoon, CBS News crews in Chicago spotted National Guard soldiers dressed in camouflage with Texas National Guard patches walking around the U.S. Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, near Joliet, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago.

Several caravans have been set up as temporary accommodation. Several soldiers were seen moving in with bags full of belongings; some holding rifles and folding chairs, possibly for meetings or other training. A fence was also installed around the establishment Tuesday evening.

Retired U.S. Army Major General Richard Hayes was the highest-ranking member of the Illinois National Guard. In his more than 30-year career, he said he has never seen another state’s National Guard federalized and then sent to another state.

“It’s new. It doesn’t mean it’s necessarily illegal, it’s just different,” he said. “As far as the soldiers, the Illinois National Guard, even the Texas National Guard, they have no say in whether they participate or not. It’s not a political organization, they’re just there to do what they’re asked to do.”

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. said he learned Monday evening that the Elwood site would be the troops’ home base.

“It’s a lot of political theater,” he said. “There’s quite a disconnect in communication between federal and local governments.”

If it were federal, the National Guard would receive its orders from the federal government, not the state.

“If the courts later say it’s not appropriate or it’s not legal, then they will step aside,” Hayes said.

“I would ask the federal government and the administration, come on…let’s just start working as adults,” Walsh Jr. said.

About 200 members of the Texas National Guard will be deployed to Chicago this week, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Members of the Texas National Guard are expected to begin their missions in Chicago as early as Wednesday, after receiving an operational brief, ahead of a federal court hearing Thursday on a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, which seeks to block troop deployment.

State and local leaders said they had been left largely in the dark about the troop deployment and had not been given any details about the troops’ mission.

Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Democrat, said her office was not briefed by the Trump administration on the National Guard’s deployment to Elwood, including the number of troops stationed there or the duration of the operation.

“The arrival of the National Guard by the Trump administration is an excessive and aggressive measure. Our federal government sending armed troops into our community should alarm everyone,” she said in a statement. “I will coordinate with local leaders to ensure we are doing everything in our power to protect the rights of our residents and the safety of everyone. I hope Thursday’s hearing in Federal Court puts an end to this attack on our community.”

The Illinois National Guard was also ordered to report for training Tuesday, although it is unclear whether they will also be stationed in Elwood.

The Trump administration said National Guard members would be assigned to protect federal installations and federal law enforcement personnel, including ICE facilities located in Broadview, a western suburb of Chicago, and downtown Chicago.

On Monday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted a photo on X Monday evening with the caption: “The elite Texas National Guard. Always ready. Deploying now.” The photo shows members of the Texas National Guard boarding a plane.

On Sunday evening, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said President Trump had ordered National Guard members of Texas be deployed to Illinois.

In a statement, Pritzker said 400 members of the Texas National Guard would be deployed to Illinois, Oregon and other locations across the United States.

As members of the Texas National Guard arrived in Illinois, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson – who fiercely opposed the deployment – ​​was asked about their mission.

“There is a process that the National Guard goes through before they are actually released onto the streets of Chicago or wherever,” he said. “But what’s really troubling about all of this is that the National Guard has no police authority or police powers. That’s not what they’re trained to do.”

While a federal judge on the West Coast approved a temporary restraining order blocking Texas National Guard troops from deploying to Portland, Oregon, a federal judge in Chicago on Monday refused to immediately grant a similar request to stop the deployment in Illinois. The judge scheduled a hearing for Thursday to rule on the request to block the deployment.

Sunday, a memo obtained by CBS News from the Pentagon called for hundreds of National Guard troops to be sent to Illinois. Pritzker said Saturday that the Trump administration intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard after being given an ultimatum on the deployment of troops. The ultimatum issued by the Trump administration, according to Pritzker, was “call in your troops, or we will.”

Members of the Illinois National Guard are not expected to be ready to deploy until Thursday’s hearing, sources said. These personnel will undergo additional training, including civil unrest training in the coming days, and will be provided with necessary protective equipment.

“Calling in the Texas National Guard is really a vast overreach by the federal government here,” said the former Illinois National Guard warrant officer. » declared General William Enyart.

Enyart said that without roots in Chicago and a nuanced understanding of the region, out-of-state troops would be at a serious disadvantage.

“Bringing in someone from 1,000 miles away, who doesn’t have any of those contacts, who doesn’t have any developed networks, is absolutely a danger to public safety,” he said.

Pritzker repeatedly refused to call in the Guard during the period of tightened immigration controls, which the government dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.” Pritzker also accused the Trump administration, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino, of intentionally sowing chaos in order to justify the deployment.

The Illinois Attorney General’s Team and Chicago city prosecutors will be back in federal court next Thursday to try to stop the troop mobilization.

Meanwhile, attorneys for the village of Broadview, home to an ICE processing center that has sparked heated protests and clashes, were scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday to argue for the removal of a fence the federal government erected outside an ICE facility on Beach Street in Broadview.

They said the federal government did not obtain a permit for the fence and that it was illegal to block a public road. The judge in the case said he would rule on the village’s request to tear down the fence in the coming days.

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson could also face legal action soon over a protest curfew she issued Monday night. She said the village’s resources can’t keep up with the repeated protests outside the ICE processing center, so she limits gatherings to between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

“Let me be clear, I will always support the First Amendment and people’s right to peaceful protest,” Thompson said Monday. “But as mayor, I must also balance the law with the safety and well-being of Broadview residents and businesses.”

Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.