The Trump administration is reportedly working on plans to deploy the US military to Chicago to crack down on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.
The Defence Department planning, in the works for weeks, involves several options, including mobilising at least a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September, the Post reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
“Chicago is a mess,” US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday, deriding its mayor as he continued his attacks on cities run by Democratic politicians. “And we’ll straighten that one out probably next.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says National Guard troops in his city are not necessary. (Picture: Eileen Meslar/AP)The Pentagon said in a statement late 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.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on the Post report.
JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of the state of Illinois, which includes Chicago, said in a statement the state had received no outreach from the federal government on whether it needed assistance. He said there was no emergency warranting a National Guard or other military deployment.
“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicise Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families,” Pritzker said.
A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Friday Johnson said the city had grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops.
“The problem with the president’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for and unsound,” the mayor said, adding that over the past year, homicides in Chicago have fallen by more than 30 per cent, robberies by 35 per cent and shootings by almost 40 per cent.
At Trump’s request last weekend, the Republican governors of three states said they were sending National Guard troops hundreds of miles away to Washington, DC.
The president has portrayed the nation’s capital as a city awash in crime, although Justice Department data shows violent crime hit a 30-year low there last year.
In June, Trump ordered 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, against the wishes of California’s Democratic governor, during protests over mass immigration raids by federal officials.
With additional reporting from Reuters
Hence then, the article about trump eyes sending us military into another major city was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trump eyes sending US military into another major city )
Also on site :
- Suspect in deadly San Jose police shooting identified
- Details emerge in crime spree that ended in deadly shootout with San Jose police
- Zelensky is ‘a man in a desperate position’ – Orban