After DC, Trump eyes to take over Chicago; preparation on for military deployment: Report

The US defence headquarters, Pentagon, is preparing plans to deploy the military in Democratic-run Chicago as President Donald Trump pushes for a crackdown on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration — a model officials say could later be applied to other major cities, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

The plan, which has been under discussion for weeks, includes several options such as sending in a few thousand National Guard troops as early as September to America’s third most populous city, the report said.

If approved by the Defence Department, Chicago could see a repeat of June’s operation in Los Angeles, when the Trump administration deployed 4,000 California National Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines despite objections from state and local leaders.

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Asked about the matter, the Pentagon said on Saturday, “We won’t speculate on further operations. The department is a planning organization and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel,” according to Reuters.

Trump on Friday defended the deployment of 2,200 National Guard members in Washington DC, calling it an overdue step to fight crime, and signalled Chicago could be next. “Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough,” he said.

Officials familiar with the matter said military intervention in Chicago had been under consideration for some time and could align with a broader crackdown by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting undocumented migrants.

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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said the state had received no communication from the Trump administration and insisted there was no emergency requiring National Guard or military deployment.

“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families,” Pritzker said in a statement.