The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) is planning for a military deployment in Chicago, as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on “crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration,” the Washington Post revealed.
The plan follows a similar move in Washington DC, where Trump issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in the Democratic District of Columbia and deploying National Guard members. It also echoes a similar move in Los Angeles, where he deployed 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines.
Troop Deployment in Chicago
Trump on Friday disclosed his intention to deploy troops in Chicago, criticizing its mayor. “Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough,” he said.
Officials familiar with the matter told Washington Post that Trump’s plan involves many options, including the mobilization of at least a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September to Chicago.
They also added that a military intervention in Chicago has long been in discussion, along with expanded operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to search for undocumented migrants.
In a statement on Saturday, the Pentagon said: “We won’t speculate on further operations. The department is a planning organization and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel.”
Chicago Pushback
Democratic Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, and Chicago Mayor, Brandon Johnson, responded to Trump’s remarks on Friday, saying they have not asked for help or received any formal communication from the administration regarding the deployment.
“After using Los Angeles and Washington, DC as his testing ground for authoritarian overreach, Trump is now openly flirting with the idea of taking over other states and cities. Trump’s goal is to incite fear in our communities and destabilize existing public safety efforts — all to create a justification to further abuse his power,” Pritzker said.
“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families,” he added.
Meanwhile, the mayor expressed concern over the move. “We have grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the City of Chicago. The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” Johnson said.
Crime Rates
Trump has long criticized major US cities, describing them as lawless, Democratic-run failures. “You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don’t even mention that anymore. They’re so, so far gone. We’re not going to let it happen,” he said.
Chicago, home to around 2.7 million people, has led the country in homicides for the past 13 years, recording 573 in 2024. However, it is not the highest rate, as other major cities like St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, and DC all had higher homicide rates last year.
According to DC police data, violent crimes in the District have significantly dropped by 27% compared to last year, with homicides declining 11%.
Previous Deployments
On August 11, 2025, the US President ordered the deployment of National Guard in DC, with six Republican states announcing they were sending hundreds of National Guard troops to the capital. He said that his administration would take over Washington’s police department for at least a month and activate 800 members of the National Guard to reduce crimes and remove homeless encampments.
On Friday, the Pentagon said that the National Guard troops in DC will soon be allowed to carry firearms.
Similarly, Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard members and a battalion of 700 Marines in Los Angeles, California in June, citing “incidents of violence and disorder” amid protests over mass immigration raids by federal officials.
The LA deployment has led to a legal battle between Trump and California Governor, Gavin Newsom, who filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the use of National Guard troops.
