Above photo: Trump announces deployment of troops to Chicago. Screenshot via CBS News.
City leaders denounce the plan and activists prepare mass resistance.
The data shows crime is falling even as Trump paints Chicago as “the most dangerous city in the world”.
After weeks of threats, US President Donald Trump officially announced that he is sending federal forces to the US city of Chicago. On September 2, Trump declared his intent to send federal troops, including National Guard personnel, to Chicago to address rising crime, stating: “We’re going in. I didn’t say when, but we’re going in.”
On Tuesday, Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that Chicago is “the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far.” Chicago is not the most dangerous city in the world or even the nation in terms of violent crime and homicide. Chicago’s overall violent crime rate remains higher than the national average, but it’s seeing a steady decline. Over Labor Day weekend, Chicago saw 8 homicides and 50 shootings. Despite this tragic spike, Chicago police data indicates there were 278 murders so far this year, through August, a 31% drop compared to the same eight-month period in 2024.
Just hours earlier on Tuesday, September 2, a federal judge barred President Donald Trump’s administration from deploying the military, including the National Guard, as part of Trump’s stated efforts to combat crime in California. In June, the administration had dispatched about 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles following a mass uprising against violent ICE raids. This deployment was done against the wishes of California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, the first time that a president had deployed the National Guard without the cooperation of the governor of a state since 1965.
Chicago Activists Mobilize, Officials Swiftly Respond
After Trump’s announcement about the midwestern city, Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat, swiftly responded: “He just wants his own secret police force that will do publicity stunts whenever his poll numbers are sinking, whenever his jobs report shows a stagnating economy, whenever he needs another distraction from his failures,” Johnson told reporters.
“Chicago is doing what works without Trump’s invasion of our city,” wrote the Chicago Teachers Union on X. “We reject occupation. We welcome investments in public education, youth employment, and affordable housing.”
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said that after Trump’s remarks, he learned from reporters that the administration had already assembled ICE agents and military vehicles, with additional agents en route.
Chicago-based protest movements and leaders say they’re preparing for Trump’s deployment. On Labor Day, September 1, protesters filled downtown Chicago in the “Workers over Billionaires” rally. They denounced the threat of ICE and Guard deployment, expressing fears that such actions would escalate tensions and fail to address crime.
“We have a stronger broader movement preparing to mobilize,” Lawrence Benito, head of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told AP after Trump’s Tuesday announcement. “People still have to go about their lives. We’re making sure folks are prepared and we’re ready to respond.” Additionally, the Pentagon is preparing to assign up to 600 military lawyers to assist with immigration hearings in Chicago and other cities, as part of Trump’s larger mass deportation efforts.
Chicago-based activists with the ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation are planning a protest against for September 6 against the “federal crackdown on Chicago”, declaring that “ICE and National Guard are not welcome here!”
“It’s time to defend our communities! When we unite and fight, we win!” reads an instagram post announcing the protest.
