National Guard on the Verge of Chicago: Sixty Days in a War Zone

Two hundred members of the U.S. National Guard are preparing to be deployed in Chicago under an order from President Donald Trump, despite opposition from local Democratic officials.

A U.S. military official confirmed that the 200 reservists had already arrived near Chicago in preparation for their deployment to the city.

Trump, who described the major northern metropolis as a “war zone,” intends to apply the same solution he has used in other Democrat-led cities: deploying military forces in the streets, an exceptionally rare measure in the United States.

On Tuesday, a Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the mission of these soldiers from Texas was to “protect federal procedures, agents, and property” for an initial period of sixty days.

According to an AFP photographer, these troops are currently stationed near an army base in the town of Elwood, about an hour from downtown Chicago.

Over the weekend, the Republican president authorized the deployment of 700 National Guard members to Chicago, a decision that angered local Democratic leaders, who have taken legal action to prevent the White House from executing the plan.

Chicago thus becomes the fifth Democrat-led city in which the U.S. president has ordered the deployment of the National Guard — a measure traditionally reserved for exceptional emergencies.

In recent months, Trump had already sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Washington, and Memphis, despite local opposition, claiming that the move had helped to “clean up” the federal capital.

In Portland, however, a federal judge temporarily suspended the deployment order on Saturday.

For months, that northwestern city has been witnessing demonstrations against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

Trump has made combating illegal immigration a central priority of his presidency, repeatedly denouncing what he calls an “invasion” of the United States by “criminals from abroad.”

The National Guard, composed of military reservists, is typically tasked with responding to natural disasters but can also be mobilized for overseas combat operations in times of crisis.