Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott mocked Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, calling him a “joke” for opposing his deployment of Texas National Guard troops to provide security over immigration enforcement operations in Chicago.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Abbott said, “Gov. Pritzker is a joke” and is in “violation of his oath of office” by attempting to interfere with federal law enforcement efforts to improve safety in Chicago and other Illinois communities.

Texas National Guard troops arrived in Illinois on Tuesday, tasked with protecting federal personnel and property amid anti-immigration protests, the Pentagon confirmed. A Pentagon official said 200 guardsmen were mobilized for an initial 60-day period.

Pritzker, a rumored 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and fierce critic of President Donald Trump, has condemned the National Guard deployment, calling it “Trump’s invasion” and calling on Abbott to withdraw his support. He has also threatened to pull out from the National Governors’ Association if the bipartisan group does not condemn the deployment.

ABBOTT DEPLOYS ‘ELITE TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD’ AFTER TRUMP CALLS FOR REINFORCEMENTS: ‘EVER READY’

The state of Illinois, joined by the city of Chicago, also filed a lawsuit in federal court in an attempt to stop the deployment.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Abbott said that Pritzker’s actions are in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“You may recall it wasn’t too long ago that he put his left hand on a Bible and raised his right hand and swore to God that he would support the Constitution of the United States as opposed to supporting it and allowing federal officials to enforce federal law. He’s violating the Constitution, violating the oath that he took by interfering with the ability of federal officials to conduct the executive branch of the federal government,” said Abbott.

PRITZKER SUES TRUMP TO BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD ACTION IN ILLINOIS

Texas National Guard troops assembled at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, Ill., Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

He said that it is “only natural” Trump would call on his “elite National Guard to provide assistance anywhere in the entire country,” because of Texas soldiers’ extensive experience providing security at the southern border.

“Texas has the most proven, the largest, the best-trained National Guard in the United States of America,” he said. “Americans will remember we had thousands of our National Guard securing the American border, the largest border state in the entire country, more than 1,200 miles. And it was Texas, as opposed to the federal government under the Biden administration, that had to step up and secure the border.

“Now, because we have a president who is finally enforcing the laws of the United States … it’s only natural, by extension, that if there’s a need for that elite National Guard to provide assistance anywhere in the entire country, that it would be the National Guard called upon,” he added.

Though Pritzker has denounced the deployment as an “invasion,” Abbott clarified that his soldiers’ presence in the state is strictly to provide backup for federal officials who have recently faced intense opposition from agitators in Illinois.

“They provide a very important backup role to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Right now, they are playing a very important backup roll to ensure the safety of federal officials while federal officials enforce federal law in places like Illinois, Oregon and elsewhere,” he explained. “There’s unrest in areas where ICE is trying to operate and where ICE is trying to enforce the law. And what ICE or other federal officials need, they need safety and security as they go about the process of carrying out their function.

WHITE HOUSE MOCKS ‘SLOB’ PRITZKER AFTER HE REJECTS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD PLAN

Federal law enforcement agents confront demonstrators protesting outside an immigrant processing center Saturday in Broadview, Ill. One protester allegedly threatened to kill federal officers. (Getty Images)

“It is very important that the public understand that these federal officials, they have a requirement to enforce federal law. Anybody who interferes with that is interfering with the ability for federal officials to do their job.

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“What the National Guard is trained and skilled at doing is dealing with civil unrest like that,” said Abbott. “Whenever the country is in times of need, Texans will step up and help out any way we possibly can.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – As the holiday season kicks off, freight trucking experts say cargo theft will once again surge as more products hit the road.

The July Q2 report from Verisk CargoNet, a national information-sharing system that tracks cargo theft, shows a 13% increase in cargo theft compared to the same time in 2024.

Old-fashioned cargo theft is still happening, and one San Antonio-based freight business has some experience with it. 

“Before 2020 it was more just straight thefts,” said Adam Blanchard, co-founder of Double Diamond Transport and Tanager Logistics. “They would come in, cut the seals and take cargo out of it.”

NINTENDO SWITCH 2 STOLEN IN $1.4M CARGO HEIST

Online cargo theft has skyrocketed since the pandemic, rising 1,500% over the past four years, according to Trucking.org.

Keith Lewis, CargoNet’s Vice President of Operations, said he noticed the jump in online theft just after 2020, “and the bad guys realized they could work from anywhere in the world and control freight.”

These fraudsters are now digging deep into all facets of the trucking industry.

“They stole my identity as a freight broker in order to get cargo from other companies and tender it to legitimate motor carriers and I started having legitimate trucking companies reaching out to me asking for payment for freight that wasn’t mine,” Blanchard said.

Blanchard traced the fraudsters back to Eastern Europe and found they stole a load of energy drinks. His business partner got the fake logistics company on the phone, but they were never hit with legal action. 

The heist by the fraudsters hurt Blanchard’s reputation, and due to the rise in theft claims, his business insurance rates doubled this year.

CARGO THEFT HITS RECORD HIGH IN 2024

Adam Blanchard, a freight business owner, said many stolen goods are sent to fake warehouses. (FOX News)

American Trucking Associations (ATA) CEO Chris Spear told FOX, “This is much more tech-driven by transnational organizations operating out of Eastern Europe, Russia. They’re actually going into the bill of laden, they’re looking for the expensive type of freight.”

But what happens once a truckload of product is stolen by a fraudster across the world?

“They’ll steal that freight, put it in containers as best we can tell, a lot of it is going to the LA area, and transport it to other countries,” Blanchard said.

CargoNet’s Lewis said sometimes freight companies do not know a load of goods is stolen until weeks, months or even a year later. 

“The problem is, is we don’t have mandatory reporting, so a lot of these go unreported,” he said. 

So far this year, California, Texas, and Illinois rank in the top three for cargo theft, representing 53% of all cargo theft nationwide. The top items targeted are food and beverages, and household goods.

The ATA says cargo theft is a $19 million-a-day hit to the trucking industry.

DEMOCRAT CRITICIZES TRUMP IN DIVERTING RESOURCES FROM FIGHTING ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT

California, Texas and Illinois are the top three states for cargo theft in the U.S., according to CargoNet. (FOX News)

The freight trucking industry is urging lawmakers to pass the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA). The ATA said the bill “would provide law enforcement and industry with a unified framework to fight back. Not only would it create a long-overdue task force to pursue these criminal rings, but it would also establish a badly needed national cargo theft database.”

Blanchard testified to Congress in February, along with other industry leaders. 

“Here is the crux of the issue. There is no law enforcement agency that is focused on this,” Blanchard said. “Until we get legislation passed on the federal level that establishes a federal law enforcement coalition that begins to investigate these crimes, and begins to actually conduct arrests and prosecutions, this [is] only going to continue to get worse.” 

Blanchard said theft will affect every part of the business, which means he may have to increase prices – ultimately leading to higher prices for shoppers.

“When they’re seeing products not arriving on the shelves, there’s a shortage of that,” Spear said. “The cost goes up. There’s a reflection in what you, I and what everyone pays for the things we want and need.” 

FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant carrying a New York state commercial driver’s license with “NO NAME GIVEN” listed as his name was arrested by ICE in Oklahoma, according to DHS.

The agency said that it has been working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as state and local law enforcement to get illegal truck drivers off American highways following the high-profile accident involving Indian illegal Harjinder Singh.

Working with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, ICE arrested another Indian illegal alien named Anmol Anmol. DHS said that Anmol was carrying a New York commercial driver’s license on which his first name was listed as “NO NAME GIVEN.”

A redacted photo of the license obtained by Fox News Digital shows it is a Class A CDL that was issued in April and is valid until May 2028. There is a star at the top right corner of the license, indicating that it is a REAL ID.

OKLAHOMA TROOPERS, ICE DETAIN 120 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THREE-DAY INTERSTATE ENFORCEMENT SWEEP

Anmol was arrested by ICE on Sept. 23, 2025, during a routine inspection at a truck scale on I-40. Record checks conducted by ICE revealed that Anmol is an illegal alien from India who entered the country in 2023. DHS said he was released by the Biden administration into the country.

Anmol has now been placed in removal proceedings.

Commenting on Anmol’s arrest, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that “New York is not only failing to check if applicants applying to drive 18-wheelers are U.S. citizens but even failing to obtain the full legal names of individuals they are issuing commercial drivers’ licenses to.”

“Allowing illegal aliens to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to operate 18-wheelers and transport hazardous materials on America’s roads is reckless and incredibly dangerous to public safety. Thanks to the successful 287g partnership of ICE and Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Anmol Anmol is no longer posing a threat to drivers,” added McLaughlin.

“DHS is working with our state and local partners to get illegal alien truck drivers who often don’t know basic traffic laws off our highways.”

EXPERT REVEALS HOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER MAY HAVE GOTTEN COMMERCIAL LICENSE BEFORE FATAL FLORIDA CRASH

Left: Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Right: ICE agents (DHS; ICE )

An official with the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, however, contested the license holder’s illegal status, telling Fox News Digital that the individual holding the license has lawful status in the U.S. through a federal employment authorization issued in March and “was issued a license consistent with federal guidelines.”

“This commercial driver’s license was issued in accordance with all proper procedures, including verification of the individual’s identity through federally issued documentation,” the official said, adding that “it is not uncommon for individuals from other countries to have only one name.”

The official said that “procedures for that are clearly spelled out in the US Citizenship and Immigration Services policy manual,” and added that “it is important to note that federal documents also include a ‘no name given’ notation.”

In response, McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that “the Biden Administration gave this illegal alien work authorization in 2023” and that “work authorization does not give anyone lawful immigration status.”

McLaughlin called it “insane that New York is issuing commercial drivers licenses to illegal aliens.” 

“The state of New York needs to stop trying to pass the buck and admit they need to have stricter standards for issuing commercial drivers licenses. They are putting the safety of all American drivers at risk,” said McLaughlin. 

Pressed further by Fox News Digital on Anmol’s immigration status, a New York DMV official said, “Any questions about immigration documentation should be directed to the federal government.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Stitt said that “if New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them. The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.”

The arrest was part of a three-day operation, Sept. 23-25, that targeted threats to public safety along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma. ICE was able to work in conjunction with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol because of the state’s 287(g) program, which enables state and local law enforcement agencies to directly cooperate with ICE.

FLORIDA AG ANNOUNCES PROBE OF SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS THAT GIVE TRUCKING LICENSES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Incoming National Governors Association (NGA) chair Gov. Kevin Stitt spoke to Fox News Digital during the NGA summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo.  (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

During that period, ICE and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested 120 illegal aliens, 91 of whom were operating a commercial motor vehicle with commercial driver licenses granted by sanctuary states. The office of Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said that the operation arrested illegals from India, Uzbekistan, China, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Mauritania.

Stitt’s office said that the illegals arrested posed a public safety risk “by operating 80,000-pound commercial vehicles without proper verification.”

According to DHS, other illegals arrested during the operation included aliens with prior convictions for driving under the influence, money laundering, human smuggling, assault, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of a controlled substance and illegal re-entry into the U.S.

Among those arrested was Guatemalan national Kevin Ivan Escobar-Dionicio, who has a criminal history including charges for human smuggling and money laundering. Another Guatemalan illegal arrested during the operation, named Alfredo Sanic Chipix, had past charges for assault.

BLUE STATE INVESTIGATES HOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER GOT LICENSE BEFORE DEADLY FLORIDA CRASH

Left to right: Kevin Ivan Escobar-Dionicio, Alfredo Sanic Chipix, Adrian Betancourt Rodriguez, Firuz Khamidov.  (Reuters; DHS)

Adrian Betancourt Rodriguez, from Cuba, was also arrested and has been convicted of selling cocaine.

Another, Firuz Khamidov, from Russia, was arrested and has charges for forgery.

This comes amid national concerns about illegal aliens operating commercial trucks on U.S. highways, following the high-profile case of Harjinder Singh, who is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in St. Lucie County, Florida, for his involvement in a fatal crash on Aug. 12.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Singh was carrying a commercial driver’s license issued in the state of California.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said that Singh had been issued a CDL despite having failed an English language proficiency assessment and having only correctly identified one out of four roadway signs in the same test.

CALIFORNIA USING BACK DOOR TO GET FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE, GOP SAYS; DEMS SAY NONSENSE

Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old illegal alien from India who was arrested on Aug. 16, 2025, allegedly attempted to make an unauthorized U-turn in Ft. Pierce, Florida, on Tuesday, resulting in a crash that killed three people. (United States Marshals Service)

Singh’s case sparked national concerns about how widespread a public safety issue illegal aliens driving on American roadways could be.

Commenting on Operation Guardian Sweep, Deputy ICE Director Madison Sheahan said that illegal aliens “have no business operating 18-wheelers on America’s highways.”

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Sheahan said that the operation “clearly demonstrates how federal and local law enforcement agencies can work together to make America safe again” and that “our roads are now safer with these illegal aliens no longer behind the wheel.”

She encouraged more state and local law enforcement agencies to join the 287(g) program “to help remove public safety threats and receive reimbursement funds available to our law enforcement partners.”