Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order to take “immediate, drastic action” to protect the city’s residents before the Trump administration deploys the military, possibly in the coming days.
After deploying National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump has threatened to target Chicago next.
Johnson laid out plans Saturday detailing how his administration would respond to any attempts by Trump to move into the city.
“We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks before our city sees some type of militarized activity by the federal government,” Johnson warned Saturday. “It is unclear at this time what that will look like. We must take immediate, drastic action to protect our people from federal overreach.”
“We may see militarized immigration enforcement. We may also see National Guard troops. We may even see active duty military and armed vehicles in our streets,” the mayor said.
Trump previously called Chicago a “mess” and characterized it as a “killing field” as he hit out at Johnson’s leadership.
“Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next,” Trump threatened.
The White House dismissed Johnson’s executive order signing as a “publicity stunt.”
“If these Democrats focused on fixing crime in their own cities instead of doing publicity stunts to criticize the President, their communities would be much safer,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to The Independent. “Cracking down on crime should not be a partisan issue, but Democrats suffering from [Trump Derangement Syndrome] are trying to make it one.”
“They should listen to fellow Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser who recently celebrated the Trump Administration’s success in driving down violent crime in Washington DC,” Jackson added, referring to comments made by the D.C. mayor last week.
Bowser said Wednesday that she “greatly appreciate[s] the surge of officers” Trump deployed to the capital. “We think that there’s more accountability in the system, or at least perceived accountability in the system, that is driving down illegal behavior,” Bowser said.
However, the mayor did criticize the administration’s tactics, particularly on immigration, and said the police takeover led to a “break in trust” between the community and police.
The order announced by Johnson, titled the “Protecting Chicago initiative,” instructs the city’s police not to collaborate with the military on immigration enforcement.
“This order affirms that the Chicago Police Department will not collaborate with military personnel on police patrols or civil immigration enforcement,” the mayor said. “We will not have our police officers who are working hard every single day to drive down crime, deputized to do traffic stops and checkpoints for the president.”
Chicago Police Department officers will be directed to wear uniforms and refrain from wearing masks so that citizens can “clearly distinguish them” from federal agents,” the mayor said.
“We do not want to see tanks in our streets. You do not want to see families ripped apart. We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans,” Johnson said. “We don't want to see homeless Chicagoans harassed or disappeared by federal agents. We don't want to see Chicagoans arrested for sitting on their porch.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has also told Trump that the nation’s third-largest city doesn’t need or want military intervention to fight crime.
On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the administration had asked a military base outside Chicago for assistance with immigration operations in the city.
Border Czar Tom Homan said this week that “a large contingent” of ICE officers would be sent to Chicago, but did not say how many.
The Times estimated that around 200 homeland security officials would be sent to the Midwest city.
The administration could also federalize the Illinois National Guard and send members in, along with other branches of federal law enforcement, such as agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives and Firearms.
