Chicago mayor signs order to resist possible Trump troop deployment

Mayor Brandon Johnson says bid aims to support residents from ‘threats and actions of out-of-control administration’.

The politician of Chicago has signed an enforcement bid seeking to support residents against a imaginable determination by United States President Donald Trump’s medication to deploy national troops to the city.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced connected Saturday that helium was signing the alleged Protecting Chicago Initiative amid what helium said were “credible reports” that Chicago could spot militarised enactment by the national authorities wrong days.

“It is unclear astatine this clip what that volition look similar exactly,” the politician said astatine a quality conference. “We whitethorn spot militarised migration enforcement. We whitethorn besides spot National Guard troops. We whitethorn adjacent spot progressive work subject and equipped vehicles successful our streets.”

Among different things, the bid directs Chicago instrumentality enforcement officers not to collaborate with US subject unit connected patrols oregon during migration enforcement activities, Johnson told reporters.

He described the determination arsenic “the astir sweeping run of immoderate metropolis successful the state to support ourselves from the threats and actions of this out-of-control administration”.

Johnson’s announcement comes aft Trump earlier this period said that helium was considering whether to grow his National Guard unit deployment from Washington, DC, to different large cities crossed the country.

Trump called up the National Guard successful what helium said was a propulsion to code transgression successful the US capital. The Republican person has since credited the deployment with cutting down rates of unit successful the city.

But information from the Metropolitan Police Department showed convulsive transgression successful Washington, DC, was already astatine a 30-year low, and critics warned that the crackdown could extremity up being a trial tally for the broader militarisation of US cities.

Earlier this week, the apical Democrat successful the US House of Representatives, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, said successful an interview with CNN that Trump had “no authority” to nonstop national troops to Chicago.

The US Constitution gives the powerfulness of policing to the states.

JB Pritzker, the Democratic politician of Illinois, wherever Chicago is located, besides rejected the idea.

“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who service successful uniform, and proceed abusing his powerfulness to distract from the symptom helium is causing moving families,” Pritzker said successful a statement.

Citing unnamed sources acquainted with the matter, CNN reported connected Friday that the Trump medication has been preparing to transportation retired a “major migration enforcement operation” successful Chicago arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent week.

According to CNN, White House officials said those plans are abstracted from Trump’s thought of sending National Guard troops to Chicago for a broader crackdown connected crime.

The president, who took bureau successful January for a 2nd term, has pursued a hardline, anti-immigration agenda and pledged to transportation retired the “largest deportation operation” successful US history.

The medication has justified its propulsion by saying it is deporting “criminals” who are successful the US illegally. It has reached deals with 3rd countries to instrumentality successful deported asylum seekers and migrants.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during a quality league connected August 25, 2025 [AFP]

But US media reports implicit the past months person shown that galore radical person been swept up successful the migration raids, including immoderate American citizens and imperishable residents with nary transgression records.

In June, Trump sent 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles aft an intensified question of arrests by US migration authorities prompted monolithic protests and confrontations betwixt demonstrators and police.

On Saturday, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson slammed the Chicago mayor’s enforcement order, saying successful a connection shared by US media outlets that “cracking down connected transgression should not beryllium a partisan issue”.

“If these Democrats focused connected fixing transgression successful their ain cities alternatively of doing publicity stunts to knock the President, their communities would beryllium overmuch safer,” Jackson said.

During his quality conference, Johnson, the mayor, said it remained unclear whether Trump would spell up with his plans successful the city.

“He could alteration his mind, helium could reverse people – successful fact, I promote him to bash that,” Johnson said, stressing that Chicago – the country’s 3rd largest metropolis – does not privation its residents rounded up disconnected the streets.

“We bash not privation to spot families ripped apart. We bash not privation grandmothers thrown into the backs of unmarked vans. We don’t privation to spot stateless Chicagoans harassed oregon disappeared by national agents,” helium added.