(Substack)—President Trump has ordered the deployment of 400 Texas National Guard troops to Illinois and other states gripped by escalating anti-ICE protests. This move comes as federal agents face ongoing attacks in Chicago, where demonstrators have turned violent in opposition to immigration enforcement operations.

The unrest kicked off before last month’s start of Operation Midway Blitz, a targeted crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants who have exploited Illinois’ sanctuary policies for cover. Protesters have ramped up their tactics, using vehicles to ram ICE agents in at least two incidents this week alone.

On Saturday, Border Patrol agents on Chicago’s South Side fired on and wounded an armed woman after a mob ambushed them, roughly 15 miles from the ICE processing center in Broadview that’s become a flashpoint for the chaos. More than a dozen arrests have followed near the facility since Friday.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who flew into Illinois on Friday, didn’t mince words during her appearance on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” labeling Chicago a “war zone.” She pointed out how local officials are even barring federal law enforcement from using public restrooms in the city, recounting her own experience of being turned away from a Broadview government building when she asked to use one.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wasted no time blasting the president’s decision. “We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion,” he posted on X, urging Americans to push back. He went further, declaring, “It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will not involve sending in another state’s military troops. I call on [Texas] Governor Abbott to immediately withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate.”

Pritzker accused Trump of treating the National Guard like “political props” and insisted, “There is no reason a President should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, however, stood firm in backing the deployment. “You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it,” he said, adding that the Texas National Guard “defend our country with pride.”

Abbott’s authorization underscores the willingness of red states to step up when blue-state policies foster disorder that spills over into threats against federal personnel.

Meanwhile, a federal judge late Sunday blocked any National Guard deployments to Oregon, extending an earlier injunction after challenges from that state and California. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield vowed his state “will absolutely not be a party to the president’s attempt to normalise the use of the United States military in our American cities.”

Trump has framed these actions as essential to combat the “enemy from within … before it gets out of control,” a nod to the internal threats posed by unchecked illegal immigration and the violence it attracts. With similar deployments already underway, the administration shows no signs of backing down from restoring order where local leaders have failed.