Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an order detailing how the city will resist a potential immigration crackdown threatened by the Trump administration.
We do not need nor want an unconstitutional and illegal military occupation of our city, said Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat. The order directs city agencies on how to respond to possible immigration enforcement actions.
Trump has already deployed about 2,000 troops to Washington DC and has threatened to extend the order to Chicago, which he describes as a mess. There are also reports of a planned surge of federal immigration agents into the city.
A White House spokesperson described Johnson's order as a publicity stunt. The order signifies the latest chapter in an escalating feud between the White House and Illinois state and local officials over violent crime and immigration.
This directive demands that Trump and federal agents stand down from any attempts to deploy the US Armed Forces in the city. It also reinforces existing city policies such as requirements for law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and identifying information, and a ban on wearing masks during operations.
Mayor Johnson committed to helping residents understand their rights in the face of immigration enforcement, while explicitly ruling out local officers' participation in joint patrols with federal agents.
Local officials point out that over one in five residents is an immigrant, with a significant portion hailing from Latin America, although the number of undocumented residents remains unclear.
Trump has characterized Chicago as a killing field and insists that crime levels in the city represent an emergency. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has condemned Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard as an abuse of power, stating, Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis... and continues abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families.
The White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, criticized Chicago officials for making the fight against crime a partisan issue, suggesting that focusing on crime instead of attacking the President would lead to safer communities.
