Resistance to Trump's "chaos" plans Chicago bans ICE officers from certain areas
The city of Chicago and the state of Illinois are suing the US government. (archive image)
Image: dpa
There are protests against the immigration authority ICE in Portland.
Image: dpa
There were recent protests against Trump in Chicago. (archive image)
Image: Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times/AP/dpa
Trump's aggressive political style has already triggered protests in several cities.
Image: Carolyn Kaster/AP/dpa
The city of Chicago and the state of Illinois are suing the US government. (archive image)
Image: dpa
There are protests against the immigration authority ICE in Portland.
Image: dpa
There were recent protests against Trump in Chicago. (archive image)
Image: Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times/AP/dpa
Trump's aggressive political style has already triggered protests in several cities.
Image: Carolyn Kaster/AP/dpa
Democratic cities are fighting back: they are calling on the courts for help to stop Trump's orders to deploy soldiers on their streets. Tempers continue to flare.
06.10.2025, 21:45
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- On Saturday, the White House announced the deployment of 300 National Guardsmen to Democratic-ruled Chicago.
- After Portland, the city of millions is also complaining that US President Donald Trump is deploying the National Guard.
- Trump had already sent the National Guard to the cities of Los Angeles, Washington, Memphis and Portland, which are also governed by the opposition Democrats.
Resistance to the Trump administration and its crackdown on migrants is growing in major cities governed by Democrats. After Portland, the city of Chicago, which has a population of over a million, is also complaining that US President Donald Trump wants to deploy the National Guard in the cities to combat allegedly rampant crime and protests against raids by the immigration authorities ICE.
For months, there has been a dispute between the government in Washington and some states and cities in which it has deployed the National Guard or announced such action. The states feel that their sovereignty has been violated.
The latest lawsuit
The most recent lawsuit was filed by the US state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. It is unlawful for Trump and his government to place National Guardsmen under federal control in order to combat allegedly rampant crime in the city, the lawsuit states.
The dispute over a National Guard deployment in Chicago, where people have been protesting against ICE raids for weeks, continued to boil over the weekend: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered around 300 National Guardsmen from Illinois to be placed under federal control, according to court documents. They were to protect federal officials, such as ICE, and federal property.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Monday night on X that Trump had also called up 400 National Guardsmen from Republican-ruled Texas to deploy in Illinois, Oregon and other places in the US. "We now need to start calling it what it is: Trump's invasion," the Democrat wrote. The lawsuit explicitly addresses the planned deployment of National Guardsmen from Illinois and Texas.
Chicago creates no-go zones for ICE deployments
Alongside this, Chicago wants to ban ICE from being in selected places. Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson presented an ordinance that provides for ICE-free zones.
According to Johnson, the city prohibits ICE enforcement officers from setting up staging areas, such as checkpoints in parks or public parking lots. Private entities could also contact the city to make sure ICE officers can only enter the property with a warrant.
The city is making serious accusations against the immigration authorities. Officials have used raids for demonstrations of force, particularly in the past week.
They sprayed tear gas in the process. People had been chased, and in some cases children had been present during the incidents. Johnson spoke of a "display of tyranny". He added that the police had also cracked down on protests against the ICE operations.
The US government has been portraying the situation differently for weeks, pointing out that ICE is doing its job and the American people should be protected from criminals - supposedly the "worst of the worst". It is part of Trump's intensified anti-migration course.
Lawsuits on the use of National Guardsmen multiply in court
The lawsuit from Chicago is not the first case. The state of Oregon and the city of Portland recently filed lawsuits against Trump. A court then stopped the deployment of National Guardsmen from Oregon for the time being.
The US government responded by ordering soldiers from another state - California - to Portland. However, this step was also blocked by the court shortly afterwards.
A court in California had also long ago prohibited the US government from deploying soldiers in Los Angeles for civilian law enforcement.
In the USA, the governors of a state normally have control over the National Guard. However, in times of war or national emergency, the US President can take command. The National Guard is a military reserve unit and part of the US armed forces. It can be deployed in the event of natural disasters, unrest or domestic emergencies, for example.
Trump: "It's a war from within"
Trump only publicly denounces the problem of street crime in Democrat-ruled cities. Critics accuse him of using the National Guard to put on a show and intimidate political opponents.
Last week, the Republican caused additional irritation when he told high-ranking military officials that "some of these dangerous cities should be used as training grounds for our military". Cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles had become "very unsafe places" that would be cleaned up one by one. The US President used martial rhetoric: "This is war too. It's a war from within," said Trump.
The president's constant new announcements and statements are fueling concerns that the mood in the cities could heat up in view of ongoing ICE raids and lead to clashes and violence.
Trump had already sent soldiers to Los Angeles months ago with the aim of pushing back protests against ICE raids. Weeks ago, the US President also ordered the deployment of the National Guard in the US capital Washington in order to curb what he saw as rampant crime. At the time, he described Washington as a "rat hole".
