By ERIN HOOLEY and CHRISTINE FERNANDO, Associated Press
ELWOOD, Ill. (AP) — National Guard troops are positioned outside Chicago and could be in Memphis by Friday, as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy toward big-city crime — whether local leaders support it or not.
National Guard members from Texas had settled in at an Illinois Army Reserve center by early Wednesday, despite a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from Democratic elected leaders. Their exact mission was not clear. However, the Trump administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building in nearby Broadview.
The president has called Chicago a “hellhole” of crime, although police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides.
In Memphis, Tennessee, police Chief Cerelyn Davis said a small group of commanders was already in the city, planning for the arrival of Guard troops.
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee has said troops will be deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service to “play a critical support role” for law enforcement, though that hasn’t been defined yet.
Trump’s bid to deploy the military on U.S. soil over local opposition has triggered a conflict with blue state governors.
Illinois and Chicago are urging a federal judge to stop “Trump’s long-declared ‘War’” on the state. A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday. In Oregon, a judge over the weekend blocked the Guard’s deployment to Portland.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has predicted that National Guard troops from the state would be activated, along with 400 from Texas. He has accused Trump of using troops as “political props” and “pawns,” and said he didn’t get a heads-up from Washington about their deployment.
The Associated Press saw military personnel in uniforms with the Texas National Guard patch at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Trucks marked Emergency Disaster Services dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra fencing was spread across the perimeter.
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws. However, 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.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the Army Reserve Center for security reasons until Dec. 6.
Armed Border Patrol agents making arrests near famous landmarks in Chicago has amplified concerns after an immigration crackdown that began last month. Agents have targeted immigrant-heavy and largely Latino areas.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Monday barring federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement operations.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to 10 cities, including Baltimore, the District of Columbia, New Orleans, and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Most violent crime around the U.S. has declined in recent years. In Chicago, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, police data shows. Portland’s homicides from January through June decreased by 51% to 17 this year compared with the same period in 2024.
In Portland, months of nightly protests at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility continued on Tuesday night. In June, police declared a riot, and there have been smaller clashes since then.
An appeals court has scheduled arguments for Thursday in the government’s bid to deploy the Guard in Portland.
Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she told Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem there’s “no insurrection” in the state.
Portland police Chief Bob Day said Tuesday that the department needs to work more closely with federal agents as it looks to put more officers at the ICE facility.
Noem said on Fox News Tuesday that she told Portland Mayor Keith Wilson that DHS would “send four times the amount of federal officers” if the city did not boost security at the ICE building, get backup from local law enforcement and take other safety measures.
A federal judge in September said the administration “willfully” broke federal law by putting Guard troops in Los Angeles over protests about immigration raids.
Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Ed White in Detroit, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this story.
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