Politics
Decision to Send Texas National Guard Home Represents ‘Unconditional Surrender’: Mayor Brandon Johnson
Military personnel in uniform, with the Texas National Guard patch on, are seen at the U.S. Army Reserve Center, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Elwood, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
The decision by the Trump administration to send 200 members of the Texas National Guard troops deployed to Illinois home in time for Thanksgiving represents an “unconditional surrender,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said Monday.
Hundreds of members of the Texas National Guard have been stationed at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles southwest of Chicago, since Oct. 7. They were prevented from deploying into Chicago by a federal judge who ruled Oct. 9 that she found “no credible evidence there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois.” That decision was upheld by a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Trump administration appealed that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could rule as soon as Tuesday on whether to allow the deployment.
“This withdrawal represents an unconditional surrender by the Trump administration,” Johnson said. “But more than that, it represents a massive waste of taxpayer dollars.”
U.S. Northern Command said in a statement Sunday it was “shifting and/or rightsizing” units in Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago. Although it said there would be a “constant, enduring, and long-term presence in each city.”
“The people of Chicago and Texas deserve a full accounting on how much taxpayer dollars were actually wasted on this political stunt,” Johnson said. “We promised to fight back against the militarization of our cities, using every tool at our disposal, and we were successful in that effort. As we said from the beginning, the Texas National Guard belongs in Texas.”
Approximately 200 soldiers will be on standby at Fort Bliss, an Army base that stretches across parts of Texas and New Mexico, a defense official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and requested anonymity told the Associated Press Monday.
President Donald Trump also federalized 300 members of the Illinois National Guard. Those troops will remain under federal command, the official said.
Approximately 200 California National Guard troops sent to Illinois and Oregon will also return home, with 100 members remaining in Portland.
U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut has also blocked the deployment of National Guard troops into Portland. The Trump administration has appealed that ruling as well.
A spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker, who has vehemently opposed the deployment of the National Guard into U.S. cities said “Illinois will continue fighting for our state sovereignty, protecting people’s rights, and keeping our communities peaceful.”
Johnson also celebrated the departure of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino from Chicago. Bovino is now leading a series of aggressive immigration raids in Charlotte, North Carolina, after spending the last two months in Chicago.
“Bovino caused terror and chaos and left a trail of tears in our city,” Johnson said. “His assault on working-class communities across our city was reprehensible.”
First in Los Angeles and then in Chicago and now in North Carolina, Bovino has become the face of Trump’s effort to use federal law enforcement agencies to fulfill his promise to conduct the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
The withdrawal of the Texas National Guard and Bovino’s departure “represents a significant victory in our fight against “unconstitutional overreach” by the Trump administration, Johnson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
