Reports: Trump plans massive federal deployment to Chicago, possibly including military

Reports: Trump plans massive federal deployment to Chicago, possibly including military.

Border agents arrest two firefighters battling Washington State’s biggest wildfire.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week on an email sent by Navy Capt. Stephen Yargosz, commander of Naval Station Great Lakes, to inform his officers of plans to use the base to support a federal presence in Chicago. Capt. Yargosz told his leadership team that the Trump administration was requesting the base to house federal agents from DHS, ICE, and CBP from September 2-30. These agents would mainly be operating in downtown Chicago. The administration may also request the base’s support for a National Guard deployment, according to the email. Capt. Yargosz wrote, “Not many details on this right now. Mainly a lot of concerns and questions”.

President Trump has repeatedly threatened military and federal deployments in Democratic-controlled cities across the country. A federal judge is currently weighing whether Trump broke the law by deploying the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles earlier this year. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he has not received any notification of any plans for National Guard deployments in his state.

“Forcing the military, uninvited, into Chicago to intimidate Americans in their own communities does not make our nation stronger,” said Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War combat veteran. “It’s yet another unwarranted, unwanted and unjust move straight out of the authoritarian’s playbook that will only undermine our military’s readiness and ultimately weaken our national security”.

More like LA than DC

Trump has floated the idea of federalizing police in Chicago as he has done in DC. The Home Rule Act grants the president limited powers to take over policing in Washington DC in an emergency. Trump has no such authority in a city like Chicago, but there’s nothing to stop him flooding the area with federal agents.

Officially, the administration is characterizing their plans for Chicago as an immigration enforcement operation in a sanctuary city. Both the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago have laws that limit the amount of cooperation that state and municipal law enforcement can offer when it comes to immigration enforcement. However, Trump has raised the possibility of using the National Guard to combat violent crime and lawlessness Chicago. He has recently ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to create specialized Guard units to assist with policing and public order in America’s cities.

Both Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have refuted the necessity of this, pointing out that Chicago’s violent crime has actually dropped considerably in recent years. This was also the case in DC despite Trump’s rhetoric.

GOP governors who have sent troops to DC have 10 cities with higher crime rates (including Jackson, MS).

Border agents arrest two firefighters as they battled Washington State’s biggest wildfire

Senior Washington Senator Patty Murray (D) is demanding answers after two contract firefighters were arrested in her state over immigration violations. The firefighters were part of a crew battling the Bear Gulch fire, a nearly 9,000-acre wildfire in Olympia National Park. The fire has been burning since July 6 and is only 13% contained.

According to US Border Patrol, their agents from the nearby Canadian border were assisting the Bureau of Land Management in identifying individuals who were part of this contract crew. BLM had terminated contracts with two crews following a “criminal investigation”, according to Border Patrol’s statement. It’s unclear why BLM thought it prudent to terminate crews fighting an active wildfire, or what criminal activity was alleged.

During their operation at the park, Border Patrol demanded ID from all the firefighters present and discovered two who they say were in the US illegally. Agents arrested those two and escorted 42 other people off-site. Crewmates say border agents did not allow them to say goodbye to their detained colleagues and that one of the border agents cursed at them when they asked.

Sen. Murray observed that, “Trump has wrongfully detained everyone from lawful green-card holders to American citizens. No one should assume this was necessary or appropriate”.

Home Depots become prime locations for immigration enforcement.

ICE arrests of migrants without criminal records have surged 200%.

Central African nation of Rwanda says they have accepted 7 US deportees from other countries in past month.