Chicago Officials Condemn Trump’s Federal Troop Deployment
(MENAFN) Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and prominent Democratic officials sharply condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to focus a federal crime crackdown on Chicago, questioning the necessity and effectiveness of militarizing the city.
Speaking to media on Sunday, Johnson declared, “The guard is not needed. This is not the role of our military. The brave men and women who signed up to serve our country did not sign up to occupy American cities.” He pointed to recent reductions in murders, shootings, and vehicle thefts, crediting these improvements to investments in youth employment, mental health services, affordable housing, and enhanced police resources.
Johnson warned, “Occupying our cities with the military — that’s not how we build safe and affordable communities.”
The mayor also criticized cuts to federal funding under Trump’s administration, including violence prevention programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Medicaid, questioning how such reductions align with anti-violence goals.
He stated bluntly, “The National Guard is not going to put food on people’s table. The National Guard is not going to reduce unemployment.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told media on Sunday that Trump is trying to “manufacture a crisis and create a distraction” by threatening to intervene in Chicago without state consent.
Jeffries urged continued support for local law enforcement, saying, “We should continue to support local law enforcement and not simply allow Donald Trump to play games with the lives of the American people.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also dismissed the move, asserting there is “no emergency” justifying Trump’s plans to federalize the Illinois National Guard, deploy troops from other states, or send active-duty military forces within Illinois.
Jeffries emphasized there is no “basis, authority for Donald Trump to potentially try to drop federal troops into the city of Chicago.”
The federal crackdown was announced by Trump on Friday, following his declaration of a “crime emergency” in Washington, DC. The move put the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and dispatched nearly 2,000 National Guard troops to patrol the capital’s streets. Chicago and New York are next on the administration’s list for intensified federal crime intervention.
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