Members of the Texas National Guard have arrived in Illinois as part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy troops to Chicago and Portland, according to CNN.
About 200 soldiers were part of the initial deployment, with more expected to join soon.
The troops are stationed at a military facility outside Chicago, where they are receiving training in crowd control and legal protocols before beginning operations.
Two US military C-17 Globemaster transport planes arrived overnight in neighbouring Indiana after departing from Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
Federal focus on 'facility protection'
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official overseeing operations in Chicago, said the Guard would primarily focus on protecting federal facilities and providing rapid response in emergencies.
"Facility protection obviously is going to be front and centre to that," Bovino told CNN, citing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, which has been the site of recent protests.
He said the deployment would allow federal law enforcement to focus on other priorities while the Guard handled security and quick responses to "exigent circumstances, such as a riot or a violent situation".
Legal challenges
Both Illinois and the city of Chicago have filed lawsuits to stop the deployment, arguing that Trump overstepped his authority by mobilising state forces without local consent.
A federal judge is set to hear the case on Thursday.
The Trump administration has expanded its enforcement presence in several US cities under a broader law-and-order initiative targeting what it calls "sanctuary jurisdictions."
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting immigration enforcement on city-owned property, creating "ICE-free zones" in public spaces such as schools and parking lots.
