The Trump administration on Sunday labeled Chicago a “war zone,” justifying the deployment of 300 National Guard soldiers to the city against the wishes of local Democratic leaders. The move marks a sharp escalation in the ongoing political standoff between President Donald Trump and Democratic officials over his anti-crime and immigration crackdowns.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have both condemned the deployment, arguing that the administration is deliberately fueling unrest to justify military intervention. “They want to create the war zone, so that they can send in even more troops,” Pritzker said during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. “They need to get the heck out.”
A recent CBS poll shows that 58 percent of Americans oppose using the National Guard in US cities, while 42 percent support the move. Despite the growing opposition, Trump continues to double down on his law-and-order rhetoric, calling for what he described last week as a “war from within.”
However, his push to use military force on American soil suffered a legal blow in Portland, Oregon. US District Judge Karin Immergut issued a temporary injunction blocking the federal deployment, ruling that Trump’s determination was “untethered to the facts.” She emphasized that the United States remains “a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”
Meanwhile, tensions have flared in Chicago, where a federal officer shot a motorist Saturday in what officials described as an armed confrontation. ICE operations in Democratic-led cities have also drawn outrage, with agents accused of using excessive force during raids that left at least one immigrant dead.
As protests intensify nationwide, the Trump administration’s aggressive tactics have deepened political divides, setting the stage for a bitter struggle over federal power and civil rights.
