Trump escalates threats - National Guard and mass raids in Chicago allegedly planned

Donald Trump might be serious, or whatever one should call his behavior: On Monday, the president, as full of bravado as ever, announced that he would send National Guard troops and a wave of immigration agents to Chicago to - in his words - “straighten the city out.” At an event in Washington, he presented the operation as a necessary response to supposedly “out-of-control conditions” in the nation’s third-largest city. Details about when exactly the operation would begin and what it would focus on remain scarce. But Trump’s border czar Tom Homan stated that “concrete measures” would follow this week. With Chicago, another major city is now to be added to the list of cities where Trump is expanding federal influence. He had already targeted Los Angeles and Washington. This confrontation thus becomes the latest stage of a sweeping power struggle between the White House and Democratic-led cities that refuse to turn their police into extended arms of the immigration authorities.

The announcement gains additional explosiveness through the new DHS operation with the martial name “Operation Midway Blitz.” According to the Department of Homeland Security, the action is named after Chicago’s Midway Airport, a central hub for domestic flights, and is meant to deliver results at “lightning speed.” Officially, it is described as a “coordinated measure to improve public safety,” dedicated to the young woman Katie Abraham, who was killed earlier this year in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver. Critics, however, accuse the administration of politically instrumentalizing the name and the memory of the victim. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the mission should focus on “the worst of the worst,” and we would recommend starting in the White House, Florida, and Texas - people with serious criminal records who are in the United States illegally. A senior ICE official told reporters: “I was out with one of ICE's teams, and we arrested this individual... a 43-year-old illegal alien from Mexico. He has been convicted in 2024 of forcibly sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13.” Evidence for this, none, but we already know that. According to DHS, such cases are meant to demonstrate the urgency of the operation. But civil rights groups warn that under the pretext of fighting crime, many people who pose no danger will also be targeted.

Tension in the affected neighborhoods is growing. ICE already arrested four people with prior convictions over the weekend. Activists speak of five arrests and emphasize that several of those detained are “beloved community members” who have lived in Chicago for years. For many, this feels like a preview of what may come next: large-scale raids that will not only catch criminals but also tear families apart.

Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider spoke of an attempt by the administration to “bring war to the streets of Chicago” and accused Trump of using ICE agents and National Guard troops as “pawns in his political game.” Americans want peace, security, and functioning neighborhoods, not masked federal agents terrorizing entire communities. Schneider also criticized that the administration is simultaneously blocking hundreds of millions of dollars for gun violence prevention and urban crime reduction programs - a contradiction that makes the operation look like nothing more than a political spectacle.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has made it clear that he opposes the deployment of federal troops and stressed that Chicago has its own strategies for violence prevention. Legal experts warn of a constitutional gray area: deploying the National Guard without an explicit request from the city could be considered a violation of federal powers and end up in court. And yet, it remains to be seen whether Trump will actually carry out his threats to this extent. ICE has been present in Chicago for years, and the usual teams already carry out regular arrests. Critics therefore fear less a new strategy than a symbolic show of force aimed primarily at mobilizing his base in the election year.

Trump remains unimpressed. His rhetoric is sharp, his tone reminiscent of the law-and-order slogans of the 1970s. That he is focusing on Chicago - the third-largest city in the United States - could make the conflict between the federal government and the cities one of the key issues of the election year. For many observers, Chicago is thus becoming a testing ground for the toughest migration and security course the country has seen in decades.