(The Hill) — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) rebuked President Donald Trump’s potential deployment of the National Guard to the Windy City, telling the crowd on Monday that the city’s leaders will “protect” the “humanity” of its residents.
“No federal troops in the city of Chicago. No militarized force in the city of Chicago,” Johnson said during the “Workers Over Billionaires” protest. “We’re going to defend our democracy in the city of Chicago. We’re going to protect the humanity of every single person in the city of Chicago.”
“There are some people [who] believe that we don’t have the power to beat authoritarianism,” he continued. “But I am also a history teacher as well. We have stood up for the interests of workers before and we will do it again.”
Johnson’s clash with the administration comes just days after the mayor signed a sweeping executive order outlining how the city would respond in the case the president deploys the National Guard in hopes of lowering the crime rate in the country’s third-largest city.
The order reaffirmed that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) will “remain a locally controlled law enforcement agency” and urged Trump to “stand down” from sending in the National Guard troops.
After deploying soldiers to help patrol Washington, D.C., Trump signaled recently that Chicago, which has long struggled with gun violence, could be the next in line.
There were 34 shootings and seven people died in the city during the Labor Day weekend, according to CPD data. At least 54 people were shot in the city, officials said.
“At least 54 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, 8 people were killed. The last two weekends were similar,” Trump wrote in a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social. “Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far. Pritzker needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet.”
“I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC,” he added. “Chicago will be safe again, and soon. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Johnson, along with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), has strongly opposed Trump’s potential deployment of troops to the Prairie State.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday that immigration enforcement operations in Chicago will soon expand.
“We’ve already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago…but we do intend to add more resources to those operations,” DHS chief said while on CBS News’ Face the Nation.”
The administration is also considering using the Naval Station Great Lakes near Chicago as a staging area for immigration agents.
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