Trump Federalizes National Guard in Multiple States

The Trump administration has moved to federalize and deploy hundreds of National Guard troops drawn from Illinois, Texas and other states to cities including Chicago and Portland to protect federal personnel and ICE facilities amid protests. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott authorized sending 400 Texas guardsmen, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued memos directing initial 60‑day activations under 10 U.S.C. §12406 and placing mobilized troops under U.S. Northern Command to guard federal sites. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker refused to comply, called the deployments an invasion, and the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago sued, arguing the federalization would amount to an unlawful occupation and violate prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. A federal judge in Oregon, Judge Karin Immergut, broadened a restraining order blocking relocation or deployment of out-of-state National Guard members to Oregon. Courts and governors are scrambling to respond, and the dispute has spawned fresh legal fights over the scope of presidential authority and the Posse Comitatus Act.