by Carlo Longo
Despite legal challenges, troops arrive as tensions rise between the Trump administration and Democratic leaders over immigration enforcement in U.S. cities
Texas National Guard troops have arrived in the Chicago area as part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing federal crackdown on Democratic-led cities, escalating tensions between the White House and local officials.
The deployment follows a federal judge’s refusal to immediately block the military presence amid a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. The legal challenge, brought by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, seeks to halt Trump’s use of National Guard troops — both from Illinois and other states — for immigration enforcement.
Despite the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge April Perry declined to issue an emergency injunction, clearing the way for troops to be stationed near Chicago. By Tuesday, news outlets including the Chicago Tribune and New York Timesconfirmed their ongoing presence.
Chicago has already seen a sharp increase in immigration enforcement in recent weeks, including violent clashes in the suburb of Broadview, where officers have been recorded using tear gas and pepper spray on demonstrators.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, a vocal critic of Trump’s intervention, signed a new executive order on Monday banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from operating on city-owned property — the third such order aimed at limiting ICE operations in Chicago.
“We cannot allow them to rampage throughout our city unchecked,” Johnson said. “Nobody is above the law.”
The White House responded by accusing Johnson of “aiding and abetting criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, traffickers, and gang bangers,” according to Newsweek.
Other Illinois leaders have joined in opposing the military intervention. Governor J.B. Pritzker said in an earlier interview, “Troops don’t belong on the streets of American cities unless there’s an insurrection or a true emergency,” vowing to resist what he called a dangerous overreach of federal power.
Senator Dick Durbin condemned the deployment as “unnecessary and unlawful,” saying the National Guard should not be used as “political pawns in President Trump’s political theater.”
This latest deployment follows similar actions in other Democratic-led cities. In recent months, National Guard troops were sent to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., while efforts to deploy them to Portland were blocked by a federal judge just this week. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek described the attempted intervention as a “threat to our democracy.”
President Trump has defended the crackdown, claiming it is necessary to curb immigration and address crime. However, Democratic leaders argue crime is generally falling, and accuse the administration of exploiting immigration enforcement for political gain as the 2026 midterms approach.
As Chicago becomes the latest focal point in Trump’s broader immigration agenda, the clash between federal and local governments shows no sign of easing — and the legal and political stakes continue to rise.
(Associated Medias) – Tutti i diritti sono riservati
L’articolo Texas National Guard Deployed to Chicago Amid Trump’s Immigration Crackdown proviene da Associated Medias.
