US President Donald Trump authorised 300 National Guard troops for deployment to Illinois, over the objection of state officials, as part of his campaign to use state troops to aid federal officers conducting immigration arrests.
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“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said on Saturday.
The order signals an escalation in the administration’s focus on Chicago, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have stepped up activity and tensions have flared between federal agents and protesters outside an immigration processing centre in suburban Broadview, Illinois.
“This morning, the Trump administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Pritzker, a Democrat, said earlier on Saturday.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
Tensions rose after a confusing incident on Saturday near the Broadview facility.
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