The Pentagon, the US defense headquarters, is formulating plans to deploy military forces in Chicago, which is governed by Democrats, as President Donald Trump advocates for a stringent approach to crime, homelessness, and undocumented immigration — a strategy that officials suggest could eventually be implemented in other major cities, as reported by the Washington Post on Saturday.
The proposal, which has been under consideration for several weeks, encompasses various options, including the potential deployment of a few thousand National Guard troops to America’s third most populous city as early as September, according to the report.
If sanctioned by the Defense Department, Chicago may experience a situation similar to the operation in Los Angeles in June, where the Trump administration dispatched 4,000 California National Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines, despite opposition from state and local authorities.
When questioned about the situation, the Pentagon stated on Saturday, “We won’t speculate on further operations. The department is a planning organization and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel,” as reported by Reuters.
On Friday, Trump defended the deployment of 2,200 National Guard members in Washington DC, describing it as a necessary measure to combat crime, and indicated that Chicago might be the next target. “Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough,” he remarked.
Officials knowledgeable about the situation indicated that military intervention in Chicago had been contemplated for some time and could coincide with a wider crackdown by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aimed at undocumented migrants.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, stated that the state had not received any communication from the Trump administration and asserted that there was no emergency necessitating the deployment of the National Guard or military forces.
“Donald Trump is trying to create a crisis, politicize those Americans who are in uniform, and persist in misusing his authority to divert attention from the suffering he is inflicting on working families,” Pritzker stated in a declaration.
