On Saturday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson urged President Donald Trump against deploying troops to the city and directed municipal departments to refrain from collaborating with any federal entities.
The mayor’s directive stated, “The City of Chicago, through Mayor Johnson, demands that President Donald J Trump and any individuals or agencies operating under his command cease all efforts to deploy U.S. Armed Forces—including the National Guard—within Chicago.”
The order further mandated that Chicago Police officers display identification, avoid wearing masks, and refrain from “cooperating with federal agents in joint law enforcement patrols, arrest operations, or other duties, including civil immigration enforcement.”
Furthermore, all city departments “are forbidden from engaging in any enforcement activities designed to infringe upon Chicagoans’ rights to peaceful assembly and protest.”
The directive also specified that the city “intends to pursue every available legal and legislative option to oppose coordinated federal government actions that infringe upon the rights of the City and its inhabitants, including constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, protest, and due process.”
Johnson declared, “We will uphold our constitution. We will safeguard our city. And we will shield our people. We oppose the presence of tanks on our streets and the tearing apart of families.” He added that “Safeguarding Chicago means ensuring every resident understands their rights, every family is prepared, and every segment of city government is instructed to shield Chicagoans from federal intervention.”
This order is issued amid reports that Trump is considering a National Guard deployment in Chicago, akin to an operation earlier this summer, which saw the dispatch of around 4,000 California National Guard soldiers and 700 U.S. Marines to calm protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the city.
On Saturday, Johnson indicated he had received multiple reports suggesting the Trump Administration intends to deploy militarized forces to Chicago—potentially federal agents, National Guard troops, or active-duty military personnel—as soon as the end of the following week. He mentioned collaborating with the city council to enact preparatory legislation for any such deployment but expressed a lack of “luxury” of time.
Trump has intensified threats against Democratic-governed cities recently, menacing to dispatch National Guard troops to “tackle crime” in locations such as Chicago, Baltimore, and Oakland. He has referenced his militarized intervention in ., where the president holds some emergency authority over local law enforcement—even though many of his actions are currently under legal dispute.
The president had previously deployed over 2,000 National Guard troops and federal officers to the capital, framing it as part of a .
While Trump has not officially declared a troop deployment to Chicago, he has suggested the Midwestern metropolis could be the next target.
On August 22, Trump stated, “Once we accomplish this, we will proceed to another location and secure it as well.” He added, “Chicago is chaotic. Its mayor is incompetent, grossly so, and we will rectify that situation, likely next.”
Trump has persistently criticized Chicago’s leadership for years and throughout his first term, despite city police data revealing that Chicago violence——has decreased in recent years. Crime has seen a 15% reduction since 2023, , and fatal and nonfatal shootings have fallen by nearly 38% thus far this year compared to the previous year.