Pritzker threatens to exit governors association over Texas troop deployment to Illinois

CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is calling for the National Governors Association to condemn the deployment of troops from the Texas National Guard into the state, and has threatened to withdraw Illinois from the organization if it does not.

On Monday, Pritzker sent a letter to the National Governors Association Chair Kevin Stitt, urging him to denounce a plan to send members of the Texas National Guard to Illinois to assist the Illinois National Guard in defending federal agents conducting immigration enforcement in Chicago.

The Department of War, under the guidance of the Trump White House, called up the national guard units after Department of Homeland Security personnel became involved in confrontations with protesters at a federal facility in Broadview, which has been converted into a detention center for illegal migrants.

Over the weekend, Border Patrol agents shot a woman after a group of 10 vehicles reportedly tried to box them in near a facility in Brighton Park. The agents exited their vehicle, and one suspect attempted to run them over, prompting the agents to fire defensively, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

On Monday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said President Donald Trump has “decided to declare war” on Chicago, repeatedly characterizing the mobilization of National Guard troops to support federal law enforcement agents as an “invasion.”

Pritzker said the Department of War has ordered 400 members of the Texas National Guard to deploy to Illinois. Pritzker called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to refuse the order.

In response, Abbott posted on X saying, “I fully authorized the President to call up 400 members of the Texas National Guard to ensure safety for federal officials. You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it.”

“This is precisely the federal and interstate overreach we warned against — gubernatorial authority being trampled, state sovereignty being ignored, and the constitutional balance between states being attacked,” Pritzker in his letter. “If the President continues overriding Governors to deploy military assets into another state against another Governor’s will, we have abandoned the foundational principles that have protected our Republic for nearly 250 years.” 

“The credibility of the National Governors Association — and our integrity as state executives—rests on our willingness to apply our principles consistently, regardless of which administration attacks them. Should National Governors Association leadership choose to remain silent, Illinois will have no choice but to withdraw from the organization. I remain hopeful that principled leadership will prevail over political calculation and we can chart a path forward together,” he continued.

According to DHS, “Operation Midway Blitz” was launched in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunk driving crash by Julio Cucul-Bol, who was in the country illegally, and specifically targets criminals who flocked to Chicago and Illinois seeking protection from deportation by the state’s sanctuary policies.

Illinois effectively banned immigration detention in 2021, when it ended local cooperation agreements between the federal government and county jails. Illinois barred private detention in 2019 following failed attempts to build a new detention facility, and there are no federal immigration detention centers in the state.

According to DHS, over 800 criminal illegal aliens have been arrested despite both the state’s sanctuary policies and violent protests.

Mayor Johnson has taken measures to create ‘ICE-free zones’ in Chicago, preventing ICE agents from using city-owned spaces and unwilling private businesses for immigration enforcement.

Johnson, in a news conference Monday, accused ICE of making the city unsafe and stated that he cannot trust the information provided by ICE or the Trump administration.

Monday night, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “You guys are framing this like the president wants to take over the American cities with the military. The president wants to help these local leaders who have been completely ineffective in securing their own cities.”