Texas National Guard troops deployed to Illinois, Oregon; Abbott defends decision

TX National Guard troops to be sent to Illinois & Oregon

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott agreed to send Texas National Guard troops to help federal authorities in Illinois and Oregon.

AUSTIN, Texas - Governor Greg Abbott recently agreed to send Texas Guard members to help federal authorities in Illinois and Oregon.

What they're saying:

Abbott said on social media that he "fully authorized" President Trump 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," the statement reads, which is a response to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker saying that no federal officials had called him directly to discuss or coordinate deployment of those Guard members.

In the same thread Abbott responded to, Pritzker called on him to immediately withdraw support for the deployment, adding that state and local officials there did not ask for help.  

On Monday, as Governor Pritzker called the deployment plan an invasion, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an order declaring all city property an "ICE-free zone".

"That means that city property and unwilling private businesses will no longer serve as staging grounds for these raids. By extending this protection beyond city-owned land, the order builds a broad civic shield that limits the reach of harmful enforcement practices, it strengthens neighborhood solidarity, and it reaffirms Chicago's role as a welcoming city. The fact is we cannot allow them to rampage throughout our city with no checks or balances," said Johnson.

READ MORE: Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Oregon

Kendall Scudder, the head of the Texas Democratic Party, in a statement issued Monday called Governor Abbott "a sad, pathetic loser."

Scudder went on to say Governor Abbott is willing to do anything to get President Trump’s attention, even if it means invading another state.

The backstory:

The pushback from Illinois and Oregon comes after California fought against deployment earlier this year. 

The last mass deployment of the National Guard came in 2020 when more than 30 states responded to the George Floyd protests. 

However, you would have to go back to the Civil Rights era to find similar acts of defiance from state officials. They include President Eisenhower sending troops to Arkansas in 1957, as well as President Kennedy sending the Guard to Mississippi in 1962 and to Alabama in 1963. 

These actions then and the deployments now continue a long-running legal fight over state's rights and federal authority.  

In Memphis, state and local officials currently support a deployment plan there, but here's been no talk about backup from the Lone Star State, although troops from Tennessee have been sent to the Texas border.