By Muhammad Mamman
US President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago, escalating tensions between the White House and local leaders who had strongly opposed the move.
“President Trump has authorised 300 guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson announced on Saturday, adding that the President “will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities.”
The decision follows weeks of threats from the Trump administration to send troops into the Midwestern city despite objections from Illinois officials and Democrats, who accuse Trump of using federal power to instil fear and bolster his “law and order” agenda.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin condemned the deployment, calling it “a shameful chapter in our nation’s history,” and insisting the President was “not intent on fighting crime, but on spreading fear.”
Chicago and Portland have become key flashpoints in Trump’s anti-crime crackdown, following similar federal operations in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The raids have seen masked, heavily armed men in unmarked vehicles patrol neighbourhoods, detaining protesters and prompting outrage nationwide.
In Portland, US District Judge Karin Immergut ruled that Trump’s justification for deploying troops was “untethered to the facts,” noting that protests there posed no “danger of rebellion” and could be handled by regular law enforcement.
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden praised the ruling, saying it confirmed that Trump’s intervention “provoked violence rather than prevented it.”
Meanwhile, in Chicago, federal agents shot a motorist on Saturday after being “boxed in by 10 cars,” according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Officials said the driver, who was armed, rammed a federal vehicle before being shot and later hospitalised.
DHS accused local police of failing to secure the area, though Chicago police denied this, saying federal authorities were leading the investigation.
The incident triggered fresh protests, with demonstrators chanting “ICE go home!” before being dispersed with tear gas and pepper balls.
Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz, launched last month in Chicago, has already faced criticism for its aggressive tactics. Earlier in September, ICE officers shot and killed 38-year-old Silverio Villegas Gonzalez during a traffic stop — an incident still under federal investigation.
Critics warn that the President’s growing use of federal troops in domestic policing marks an alarming shift toward militarised governance in America’s cities.
