PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Texas National Guard troops have been deployed to the Chicago area, following a federal intervention order by the Trump administration.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D), and U.S. District Court Judge April Perry.

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📍WHEN & WHERE: Troops were mobilized on Monday and remain in Chicago, Illinois, as of Tuesday, including the suburb of Broadview.

💬KEY QUOTE: “City property and unwilling private businesses will no longer serve as staging grounds for these raids.” – Brandon Johnson

🎯IMPACT: The deployment has sparked legal challenges and local political resistance, with Illinois Democrats condemning the federal intervention despite violent anti-ICE riots and surging crime.

Texas National Guard troops have officially arrived in the Chicago area as part of an effort by the Trump administration to strengthen federal enforcement of immigration laws and crack down on violent crime in America’s major cities. The move follows weeks of increased immigration enforcement in the city, including violent anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots in Broadview, where law enforcement used tear gas and pepper gas against rioters.

The deployment proceeded after U.S. District Court Judge April Perry declined to block the mobilization late Monday, despite a lawsuit filed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D) and the city of Chicago. Raoul sought to prevent the use of Illinois National Guard troops and the involvement of other states’ forces, such as those from Texas. A federal judge blocked a similar deployment in Portland over the weekend.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) signed an executive order on Monday barring ICE agents from operating on city-owned properties. He stated, “City property and unwilling private businesses will no longer serve as staging grounds for these raids,” emphasizing that the city would resist unchecked federal actions. However, according to legal experts, Johnson’s order is likely illegal.

The Trump administration has defended the move as necessary for immigration enforcement and crime reduction. However, Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) and other Illinois officials have criticized the deployment, with Pritzker stating, “Any kind of troops on the streets of an American city don’t belong unless there is an insurrection, unless there is truly an emergency.”

The National Pulse reported Tuesday morning that a Latin Kings gang member, Juan Espinoza Martinez, has been charged with allegedly placing a bounty on U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino. Martinez, a Mexican national, was arrested on October 6, 2025, in Burr Ridge, Illinois, after a confidential source informed law enforcement that a “hit” had been placed on Bovino, who is overseeing the “Midway Blitz” immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, Illinois, where the violent criminal gang is based.

Additionally, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) is facing mounting scrutiny over a dispatch order telling officers to stand down and not report to the scene of ICE agents who were surrounded by violent rioters after having their vehicles rammed and boxed in. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said he is investigating the matter of the dispatch call and made it clear to rioters that federal, state, and local law enforcement are allowed and will defend themselves if attacked.

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