President Donald Trump has authorized Texas National Guard troops to be sent to Illinois and other states to bolster federal immigration enforcement.
The order has already triggered legal challenges in multiple states.
But by Tuesday morning, Texas troops had already arrived in Illinois, convening at a southwest suburban military training site just 50 miles outside of Chicago, according to .
Earlier that day, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi where she addressed several issues, including the deployment of federal troops to U.S. cities.
"You're sitting here and grilling me and they're on their way to Chicago to keep your state safe," Bondi said.
Here鈥檚 the background
In a social media post over the weekend, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Trump had authorized up to 400 members of the Texas National Guard 鈥渇or deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States.鈥�
Pritzker has condemned the federal authorization, calling it an 鈥渋nvasion.鈥� On Monday, Illinois and Chicago to block the deployment, but a federal judge quickly declined to pause the order. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
During , Pritzker Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to 鈥渋mmediately withdraw his support for this decision.鈥� But Abbott says he鈥檚 fully backing the president鈥檚 order.
鈥淵ou can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it,鈥� Abbott .
The Texas governor's office didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment on Monday. However, Monday evening, the governor showing troops boarding two planes.
"The elite Texas National Guard. Ever ready. Deploying now," Abbott wrote.
As of now, Texas troops cannot be sent to Oregon after from deploying out-of-state forces to the state. The ruling came after Oregon, California and Portland sought to block the deployment following the sudden arrival of federalized California National Guard members in Portland.
Why now?
The Trump administration is escalating immigration enforcement in several cities, including Chicago and , where outside of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. Officials say Guard troops would be used to bolster security for federal personnel and property.
The elite Texas National Guard.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX)
Ever ready.
Deploying now.
Who controls the National Guard?
Normally, governors control their state鈥檚 National Guard, often activating troops for emergencies like natural disasters or civil unrest. But under federal law, the president can 鈥渇ederalize鈥� the Guard, transferring command from the governor to the Department of Defense.
The president can only 鈥� like if the U.S. is under attack from a foreign country, or as the Trump administration is arguing in this case, if there鈥檚 a perceived threat of rebellion against the federal government.
Legal experts say the ongoing fight in Illinois could mirror what鈥檚 already happened in Oregon. Geoffrey Corn, chair of criminal law at Texas Tech University, said the dispute largely centers on how the term 鈥渞ebellion鈥� is defined.
"They basically boil down to a rejection of the president's assertion that these activities that he's responding to amount to a rebellion," Corn said. "It's inconsistent with the common sense notion of rebellion."
Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider contributed to this story.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
