Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) issued a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration late Sunday night after learning that 400 members of the Texas National Guard would be deployed to his state without prior notification or coordination.
The governor revealed on social media that federalized National Guard troops from Texas will be sent to Illinois and Oregon, among other locations, to address anti-ICE protesters and what the Trump administration has characterized as a war on crime.
Pritzker did not mince words in his criticism of the deployment strategy.
He stated that federal officials had not contacted him directly to discuss or coordinate the military movement into his state.
The Illinois governor escalated his rhetoric by framing the deployment as an invasion.
He outlined what he sees as a pattern of federal overreach, starting with federal agents and progressing to the federalization of Illinois National Guard members against the state’s wishes.
Shortly after Pritzker’s announcement, developments unfolded in Oregon that temporarily halted similar deployments.
A late-night court hearing resulted in Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut blocking federalized National Guard members from any state from being deployed to Portland.
The Trump administration has focused particularly on states with liberal leadership.
The president described Oregon as “burning to the ground” on Sunday and labeled Chicago, Illinois as the “world’s most dangerous city,” the Daily Mail reported.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) confirmed his authorization of the National Guard call-up on Sunday.
He wrote on social media that states could either fully enforce protection for federal employees or stand aside and allow Texas Guard forces to handle the situation.
Pritzker had specifically called on Abbott to withdraw support for the deployment decision and refuse coordination.
The Illinois governor argued there was no justification for a president to send military troops into a sovereign state without the knowledge, consent or cooperation of state officials.
California has also become embroiled in the controversy.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) condemned the administration’s actions after learning that 200 members of California’s already federalized National Guard were being reassigned to Oregon following Judge Immergut’s temporary block of efforts to federalize local troops.
Newsom had warned in June that other states would face similar federal actions as he battled to block Trump’s plan to federalize his troops in response to anti-immigration enforcement demonstrations.
On Sunday, he characterized the deployment as a breathtaking abuse of law and power, warning that the commander-in-chief was weaponizing the military against American citizens.
California and Oregon mounted a joint legal challenge to the administration’s deployment plans.
Judge Immergut granted them a temporary victory late Sunday by blocking the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon, including California’s National Guard.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield argued that the Trump administration was attempting to circumvent Judge Immergut’s Saturday order blocking deployment of the Oregon National Guard, per the Daily Mail.
The judge had previously dismissed the president’s characterization of Portland as war-ravaged and issued a temporary order pending additional legal arguments.
Judge Immergut determined that relatively small protests did not warrant the deployment of federalized forces.
She expressed concern that allowing such deployment could damage Oregon’s state sovereignty.
Rayfield emphasized the consistency of the legal position, stating that actions deemed unlawful on Saturday remained unlawful on Sunday.
He compared the administration’s approach to a teenager attempting to circumvent parental authority through workarounds.
