National Guard Troops Assemble in Chicago Area as Trump Officials Make Visits

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National Guard Troops Assemble in Chicago Area as Trump Officials Make Visits

Troops from Texas arrived in Illinois and are expected to deploy in the Chicago area on Wednesday, a U.S. military official said. Officials there and in Portland, Ore., are trying to block the deployments in court.

Published Oct. 7, 2025
Updated Oct. 8, 2025, 3:08 a.m. ET

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Anna Griffin, Mitch Smith, Robert Chiarito, Eric Schmitt and Billy Witz Reporting from Portland, Ore., Chicago and Washington

Here’s the latest.

National Guard troops from Texas assembled, with riot shields in tow, on the outskirts of Chicago on Tuesday, an extraordinary symbol of what local officials have decried as an unconstitutional “invasion” ordered by President Trump.

Two hundred troops from Texas are expected to deploy to the Chicago area on Wednesday, a U.S. military official said, and about 300 Illinois National Guard troops are preparing to deploy. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters, added that the troops would not assume any law enforcement duties themselves but instead provide support to federal immigration agents.

The mobilization came as Kash Patel, the director of the F.B.I., visited the agency’s field office in Chicago, and Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, met with law enforcement officials in Portland, Ore, where the Trump administration has made similar efforts to send in troops. Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon said she met with Ms. Noem at an airport when she landed and told her that “there is no insurrection” in her state.

Illinois and Chicago officials have contested the president’s deployment orders in court, denouncing the step of moving National Guard forces across state lines without consent from local or state authorities. Mr. Trump has also tried to send troops from Texas and California to Portland, but a federal judge has blocked those moves for now, saying they appear unconstitutional.

The president contends that a number of major U.S. cities, almost entirely those led by Democrats, need the military to crack down on crime — something troops are generally barred from doing under federal law — and to protect federal immigration agents from protesters as they try to carry out his mass deportation policies. But protests, at least in Portland, have been largely calm.

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and other Democratic leaders have accused the president of conducting a campaign divorced from reality in an effort to punish political enemies, sow chaos and consolidate his power under martial law.

Here’s what we’re covering:

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