President Donald Trump has amplified his promises to send National Guard troops and immigration agents to Chicago by posting a parody image from “Apocalypse Now” featuring a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the nation’s third-largest city.
“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
The weekend post follows Trump’s repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he’s targeted for expanded federal enforcement, including Los Angeles and Washington — marking the latest flashpoint in a broader national struggle over how far the federal government can push local authorities to cooperate with its immigration agenda.
Details on the expected intervention have been sparse, including its focus and when exactly it’s expected to begin, though Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that federal law enforcement action will come to Chicago this week.
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Noem says roundup of Koreans at Hyundai plant in Georgia won’t deter investment in the US
That’s because such tough actions mean there’s no uncertainty about the Trump administration’s policies, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday.
The detention of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Korean, in the Sept. 4 raid has caused confusion, shock and a sense of betrayal among many in the U.S.-allied nation.
“This is a great opportunity for us to make sure that all companies are reassured that when you come to the United States, you’ll know what the rules of the game are,” Noem said at a meeting in London of ministers from the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partnership focused on border security.
“We’re encouraging all companies who want to come to the United States and help our economy and employ people, that we encourage them to employ U.S. citizens and to bring people to our country that want to follow our laws and work here the right way,” she told reporters.
▶ Read more about the security meeting in Britain
Trump asks Supreme Court for emergency order to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid frozen
The Republican administration filed its appeal Monday.
The crux of the legal fight is over nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved aid President Trump last month said he wouldn’t spend, invoking disputed authority last used by a president roughly 50 years ago.
Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge last month that another $6.5 billion in aid would be spent before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled the administration’s decision to withhold the funding was likely illegal.
▶ Read more about the administration and foreign aid money
South Koreans feel betrayed after hundreds detained in Georgia plant raid
South Korea’s foreign minister departed for the U.S. on Monday to finalize steps for the return of several hundred South Korean workers detained last week in a massive immigration raid in Georgia, as the incident caused confusion, shock and a sense of betrayal among many in the U.S.-allied nation.
The Sept. 4 raid on a battery factory under construction at a sprawling Hyundai auto plant in Georgia led to the detainment of 475 workers, more than 300 them South Koreans. Some of them were shown being shackled around their hands, ankles and waists in video released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
South Korea announced Sunday the U.S. agreed to release the detained workers, saying it would send a charter plane to bring them home once final administrative steps are completed.
President Trump, who earlier backed the raid, said Sunday night that the U.S. could work out an arrangement with South Korean workers to train U.S. citizens to do work such as battery and computer manufacturing.
▶ Read more about the immigration raid in Georgia
Potential federal intervention poses challenges for Chicago police on the ground
For the Chicago Police Department, the challenge is acute. The force must preserve public safety in a city already under strain while avoiding the appearance of working hand-in-hand with federal immigration authorities, a stance that could erode community trust and ignite new protests.
The same balancing act has confronted other big-city departments in recent months. Local police in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., were drawn into fraught arrangements with federal agencies that experts say left residents wary and, at times, undermined public confidence in their police.
Now, Chicago finds itself on the same path, with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker objecting to any National Guard deployment and city officials bracing for how the added federal presence could reshape the dynamic on the ground. The outcome, policing experts warn, may determine whether Chicago police can maintain credibility in immigrant communities likely to be targeted by a president determined to show force.
▶ Read more about how federal intervention could affect Chicago police
Jury selection begins in the trial of the man accused of trying to assassinate Trump in Florida
The court has blocked off four weeks for the trial of Ryan Routh, but attorneys are expecting they’ll need less time.
Jury selection is expected to take three days, with attorneys questioning three sets of 60 prospective jurors. They’re trying to find 12 jurors and four alternates. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday, and prosecutors will begin their case immediately after that.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off in July on Routh’s request to represent himself but said court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel. Cannon confirmed during a hearing last week that Routh would be dressed in professional business attire for the trial. She also explained to Routh that he would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning witnesses, but he would not have free rein of the courtroom.
▶ Read more about Ryan Routh’s trial
Chicago churches urge calm resistance ahead of expected federal intervention
The Rev. Marshall Hatch urged congregants of a prominent Black church on Chicago’s West Side to carry identification, stay connected to family and protest as the city readied for an expected federal intervention.
“You need to start telling people about your whereabouts, so you don’t disappear,” Hatch said during Sunday services at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. “We’re not going to despair. We’re not going to feel threatened. We’re not going to give up and give in to fascism and authoritarianism.”
As Chicago braced for an immigration enforcement crackdown and a possible National Guard deployment, churches across the city turned up their response from the pulpit. Some worked to quell fears about detention and deportation while others addressed the looming possibility of more law enforcement on the streets of the nation’s third-largest city.
▶ Read more about Chicago’s response the Trump’s comments
Republicans in Congress are eager for Trump to expand his use of the military on US soil
National Guard troops patrolling the streets of U.S. cities. Weapons of war deployed against international gangs suspected of drug trafficking. Military bases and resources redirected to mass immigration enforcement operations.
President Trump is swiftly implementing his vision of the military as an all-powerful tool for his policy goals. It’s ground presidents have hardly ever crossed outside times of war, and experts say it’s remaking the role of the most powerful military in the world and its relationship with the American public.
Yet as Trump has dramatically stepped up his use of military force, fellow Republicans in Congress — where authorization for such actions is supposed to originate — have done little but cheer him on. That’s giving the president significant leeway as he raises plans to send troops next to Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans.
▶ Read more about Republicans and Trump’s use of the military
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