Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, First Army Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas S. James and Illinois National Guard Deputy Assistant Adjutant General - Army Brig. Gen. Mark Jackson listen to Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs Acting Director Linda Chapa LaVia speak during the Gold Star Mothers Luncheon.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, First Army Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas S. James and Illinois National Guard Deputy Assistant Adjutant General – Army Brig. Gen. Mark Jackson listen to Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs Acting Director Linda Chapa LaVia speak during the Gold Star Mothers Luncheon. Credit: Lt. Col. Bradford Leighton

Illinois governor JB Priztker on Tuesday told reporters the Trump administration has begun sending Texas National Guard troops to Illinois, allegedly to quell its crime rate and support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as it prepares to crack down on immigrant communities.

Pritzker made the comments shortly after President Donald Trump held a Tuesday afternoon press conference to announce, among other things, that federal forces would be deployed to combat what he characterized as high crime in Chicago.

“We have reason to believe that the Trump administration has already begun staging the Texas National Guard for deployment in Illinois,” Pritzger said in a live update posted by ABC News.

The Current is first Texas publication to report on this development. The paper reached out to both the Texas National Guard and Pritzker’s office for clarification on the deployment, including when it occurred, how many troops have been deployed and where they are currently staged in Illinois.

Neither office responded by press time.

However, in the ABC live update, Pritzker said he expects agents are planning to “raid Latino communities and say they’re targeting violent criminals.” He added that Trump “will be looking for any excuse to put active duty military on our streets, supposedly to protect ICE.”

Pritzker said he expects to see what played out in Los Angeles and, more recently, Washington D.C. to take place in Chicago as National Guard forces are deployed to the Chicago metro area.

“First, Donald Trump is positioning armed federal agents and staging military vehicles on federal property, such as the Great Lakes Naval base,” the governor said. “It is likely those agents will be with ICE, Customs and Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security and other similarly situated federal agencies. Many of these individuals are being relocated from Los Angeles for deployment in Chicago.”

During Trump’s Oval Office press conference, he offered few specifics.

“We’re going in,” Trump said. “I didn’t say when.”

The president also mentioned plans to deploy troops in Baltimore, which he characterized as “one of the most dangerous places in the world.”

This is a developing story.

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This article appears in Aug 21 – Sep 2, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.