Congressman Jackson Denounces Trump's Illegal Deployment of Texas National Guard Troops to Chicago: 'This is not governance, it is authoritarian theater'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01) today issued a forceful statement denouncing President Donald Trump's decision to deploy Texas National Guard troops to Chicago, a move undertaken without the consent of Illinois leadership and over the vigorous objection of the state.

"Today, we see another escalation in a calculated campaign to use Chicago, a city the President has shamefully called a 'hellhole', as a political battlefield for his militarized agenda," said Congressman Jackson.

"Let me be clear: this action is not about public safety; it is an unlawful, dangerous, and provocative invasion of our state sovereignty. This is not governance, it is authoritarian theater."

Congressman Jackson stated that the deployment of federalized National Guard troops for domestic policing purposes violates fundamental constitutional and statutory law:

• The Posse Comitatus Act: The deployment threatens to violate the nearly 150-year-old federal law that strictly limits the military's role in domestic law enforcement.

• The 10^th Amendment: The President is violating the sovereignty of Illinois, which preserves the state's right to exercise its own police powers and enforce its own laws.

• Exceeded Statutory Authority (10 U.S.C. § 12406): The law only permits federalization of the National Guard for reasons of invasion, rebellion, or if the federal government is unable to enforce federal laws. As the State of Illinois has demonstrated in court, none of these extreme conditions exist to justify this military action.

"We stand fully and completely behind Governor J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and Mayor Brandon Johnson, and commend their decisive action to use every single legal tool available to stop this unlawful deployment," Jackson affirmed. "This is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law, and we will defend our state's authority in court."

The Congressman pointed to the previous federal intervention under "Operation Midway Blitz" as a clear indicator of the trauma and lawlessness that these unauthorized forces bring to Chicago communities:

• Federal Officials Killed a Resident: On September 12, during the Operation Midway Blitz crackdown, ICE agents fatally shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez in Franklin Park. The use of deadly force by unaccountable agents should alarm every Chicago resident.

• The South Shore Apartment Raid: The militarized raid on a residential South Shore apartment building on September 30 was a chilling display of unconstitutional tactics. Federal agents, using Black Hawk helicopters and flashbang grenades, kicked down doors and unconstitutionally detained U.S. citizens, including an elderly military veteran, for hours in zip-ties. Children were separated from their parents, and private property was ransacked.

"The images from South Shore, masked agents treating our neighborhoods like a war zone, are intolerable. They terrorized Black and Brown citizens, violating their constitutional rights in their own homes," Jackson said. "We cannot allow this administration to continue using our communities as military training grounds under the guise of 'law and order.'"