(NewsNation) — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Saturday signed an executive order in response to the Trump administration’s reported plans to deploy the National Guard locally and as federal authorities prepare for a crackdown on illegal immigration in his city.
Johnson’s largely symbolic order in part urges federal operatives to use body cameras and discourages them from wearing masks and emphasizes that city police will not participate in any federal enforcements. The Chicago Department of Law is tasked with filing information requests with the feds if they begin an immigration crackdown.
“With this executive order, we send a resounding message to the federal government: we do not need nor want an unconstitutional and illegal military occupation of our city,” Johnson said in a statement. “We do not want military checkpoints or armored vehicles on our streets, and we do not want to see families ripped apart.”
A White House spokesperson responded to the order, saying, “If these Democrats focused on fixing crime in their own cities instead of doing publicity stunts to criticize the President, their communities would be much safer.” Cracking down on crime should not be a partisan issue, but Democrats suffering from TDS are trying to make it one.”
On Saturday, President Donald Trump commented about Chicago crime and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on his Truth Social site: “Six people were killed, and 24 people were shot, in Chicago last weekend, and JB Pritzker, the weak and pathetic Governor of Illinois, just said that he doesn’t need help in preventing CRIME. He is CRAZY!!! He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming! MAGA. President DJT”
Illinois Governor Pritzker hasn’t been informed about Trump’s plans
Pritzker said he had not received word from the Trump administration about its plans. He has called a potential National Guard deployment in Chicago an overreach of executive power.
“A U.S. president invading an American city with troops …. I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Pritzker said. “It shouldn’t happen. You call up the National Guard when you have an emergency. There is no emergency here.”
On Thursday, White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed that “a large contingent” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be sent to Chicago. Homan said that he would not disclose how many resources would be sent. The New York Times reported late Thursday that 200 Homeland Security officials would be sent.
The report, citing a draft report on the use of Naval Station Great Lakes near the Illinois-Wisconsin border, indicated that space for 250 department personnel had been requested. In addition, the plan asked for a tactical operations center and an incident command post, bathrooms, laundry facilities, parking for 140 vehicles and storage space for medical supplies and weapons including rubber bullets and tear gas.
On Friday, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said the Trump administration is committed to the eradication of organized street violence across the country.
Using the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., as an example, Miller said Trump is “proud to be using federal law enforcement and our National Guard to make this city safe and peaceful for Americans.”
However, Miller, without providing specifics on what is planned for Chicago, said cities that have “sanctuary” policies in place are the jurisdictions Trump is targeting for large-scale operations. Homan said New York City, Portland and Seattle could likewise be focal points for immigration enforcement.
Pritzker acknowledged that should the operation focus on immigration enforcement, as has been reported, there is little state and city officials can do to prevent DHS officers and agents from being deployed to Chicago.
Chicago was among the first places Homan postured toward after Trump took office. During a two-day enforcement operation just a week after the inauguration, ICE officers made more than 1,300 arrests of migrants, which Homan on Thursday said included the removal of seven child predators.
During that operation, Pritzker said Friday that ICE officers were “literally scaring the heck” out of residents in Chicago’s Hispanic communities. Pritzker compared Trump’s plans to federal deployment to Los Angeles this summer.
A source with direct knowledge of plans for the Chicago operation told NewsNation the Los Angeles deployment is the blueprint for what could be coming to Chicago as early as late next week.
“The intentions here are clear,” Pritzker said Friday. “Nothing to do with actually enforcing the law, nothing to do with actually keeping the peace. They want to inflame something. That’s what they want.”
What Chicago planning could look like
Pritzker said that Chicago will prepare for possible deployment of troops and possible protests similar to what the city did ahead of the Democratic National Convention last summer.
The governor said Friday that the Chicago Police Department is working in conjunction with the Illinois State Police and civilian law enforcement at the federal and state levels. On Thursday, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said that should Trump send ICE officers or federalize the National Guard, all Chicago Police Department officers will be required to wear uniforms that clearly identify them.
Snelling said that his department will not interfere with the work of federal immigration enforcement officers and agents and will not prevent them from doing their job. However, he made it clear that officers would not cooperate with immigration enforcement, which is prohibited under the Illinois Trust Act.
“If we know that it’s only immigration enforcement going on, our officers will not be in those areas assisting in any way when it comes to immigration enforcement,” Snelling said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.