By Alexandra Koch , Patrick McGovern | Fox News
Pentagon confirms 60-day mission to Illinois as Chicago mayor calls operation 'illegal and unconstitutional'
Texas National Guard troops arrived in Illinois on Tuesday to protect federal personnel and property amid anti-immigration protests, the Pentagon confirmed.
A Pentagon official said 200 guardsmen were mobilized for an initial 60-day period.
Troops arrived in Illinois “in support of the Federal Protection Mission to protect federal functions, personnel, and property,” according to a Pentagon statement.
About a dozen people have been arrested near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, where anti-immigration crowds have been gathering for days.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Saturday that additional special operations personnel would be deployed to Illinois after federal agents were rammed and boxed in by 10 cars.
Fox News cameras captured footage Tuesday afternoon outside the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, just south of Joliet, showing several National Guard troops on site.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted to X, noting service members are “on the ground and ready to go.”
“They are putting America first by ensuring that the federal government can safely enforce federal law,” Abbott wrote.
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