Texas National Guard members were spotted Thursday morning at the Broadview ICE facility.
The village of Broadview confirmed that late Wednesday three vans with approximately 45 Texan National Guard troops arrived at the facility, 1930 Beach St.
Several of what appear to be National Guard troops walk toward the Broadview ICE facility in Broadview Thursday morning. Broadview officials confirmed roughly 45 troops from Texas arrived to the facility late Wednesday night. pic.twitter.com/RmuzMQK7HP
— Mohammad Samra (@MoSamra16) October 9, 2025
Meanwhile a federal judge is set to hear arguments in a high-stakes National guard hearing.
Illinois’ lawsuit over the deployment of the National Guard set up one of the biggest legal clashes yet between Republican President Donald Trump and the state’s Democratic leaders.
In anticipation of the troop deployment Wednesday, a couple dozen protesters gathered Wednesday night outside the Broadview facility in designated free speech zones, dispersing about 6 p.m., per a village curfew enacted this week.
Several dozen more met for a candlelight vigil in Joliet, near the Elwood base where Texas troops were stationed. A larger protest in downtown Chicago saw hundreds march up Michigan Avenue from Congress Plaza Garden.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement site has become the center of recurring protests since President Donald Trump in early September launched “Operation Midway Blitz,” an aggressive deportation campaign in the Chicago area.
The facility has become a de facto detention center, though it was never intended to be one. Protesters, often while trying to block ICE vehicles from entering and leaving the facility, have been met with numerous rounds of rubber pellets and chemical agents that Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson previously said endanger nearby residents and first responders.
Texas National Guard members arrived early Tuesday at a military training site in Elwood, about 50 miles from Chicago, ahead of the operation to protect federal immigration agents and facilities. Their arrival came after weeks of threats from Trump to deploy military troops into Illinois over the vehement objections of Gov. JB Pritzker and other Democratic leaders.
The troops showed up a day after a federal judge rejected a request from Pritzker and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to immediately bar the deployment. A hearing on the temporary restraining order sought by Illinois leaders was scheduled for Thursday.
During a White House briefing, Trump said he was considering invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy troops, a move that could bypass the court fight waged by Pritzker and Raoul. Trump escalated his rhetoric on Wednesday, saying Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson should be jailed for failing to protect federal agents working in the Chicago area.
