National Guard troops are outside Chicago and could be in Memphis soon in Trump's latest deployment

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ELWOOD, Ill. (AP) — National Guard troops are positioned outside Chicago and could also be in Memphis by Friday, as President Donald Trump's administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy toward big-city crime — whether local leaders support it or not.

Troops’ presence at an Illinois Army Reserve center came despite a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from Democratic elected leaders. Their exact mission was not clear, but the Trump administration launched an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s third-largest city last month and protestors have frequently rallied at an immigration building in nearby Broadview.

Trump has called Chicago a “hellhole” of crime despite police statistics showing significant drops in crime, including homicides.

In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee has said troops will be deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service to “play a critical support role” for law enforcement, though that hasn’t been defined yet.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said a small group of commanders was already in the city, planning for the arrival of Guard troops.

Illinois and Chicago are urging a federal judge to stop “Trump’s long-declared ‘War’” on the state. A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday. An appeals court hearing over the government’s bid to deploy the Guard to Portland, Oregon, also is scheduled for Thursday. A judge there blocked those efforts over the weekend.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has predicted that National Guard troops from the state would be activated, along with 400 from Texas. He has accused Trump of using troops as “political props” and “pawns,” and said he didn’t get a heads-up from Washington about their deployment.

The Associated Press on Tuesday saw military personnel in uniforms with the Texas National Guard patch at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Trucks marked Emergency Disaster Services dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra fencing was spread across the perimeter.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the Army Reserve Center for security reasons until Dec. 6, meaning the Guard could be there for two months.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has barred federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement operations.

The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.

Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to 10 cities, including Baltimore, the District of Columbia, New Orleans, and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Most violent crime around the U.S. has declined in recent years, however. In Chicago, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, police data shows. Portland's homicides from January through June decreased by 51% to 17 this year compared with the same period in 2024.

In Portland, months of nightly protests at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility continued on Tuesday night. In June, police declared a riot, and there have been smaller clashes since then.

Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she told Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem there’s “no insurrection” in the state.

Noem said on Fox News that she told Portland Mayor Keith Wilson that DHS would “send four times the amount of federal officers” if the city did not boost security at the ICE building, get backup from local law enforcement and take other safety measures.

Portland police Chief Bob Day said Tuesday that the department needs to work more closely with federal agents.

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Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Ed White in Detroit, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this story.