Mayor Brandon Johnson responded to what he called President Trump's threat to deploy federal troops in Chicago by signing an executive order of his own on Saturday, in which he demands that the president "stand down." The order directs city government to pursue all legal and legislative means of stopping the deployment and specifies that the city's police department takes orders only from the mayor. "We do not want military checkpoints or armored vehicles on our streets and we do not want to see families ripped apart," Johnson said, WLS reports. "We will take any action necessary to protect the rights of all Chicagoans."
The order specifies that Chicago police will not "collaborate with federal agents on joint law enforcement patrols, arrest operations, or other law enforcement duties including civil immigration enforcement," per Politico. Federal law enforcement agencies and armed forces personnel also are directed to follow municipal law. "This is about making a clear distinction about what our law enforcement engages in vs. what the federal government engages in," Johnson said. "This president is not going to come in and deputize our police department."
The mayor said he expects a federal deployment to arrive soon, possibly next week. Trump has said Chicago could be the next city to have federal troops sent to it to fight crime, and the administration this week asked a military base near the city for help with immigration enforcement operations. White House officials on Saturday called Johnson's executive order a publicity stunt. "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," a spokeswoman told CNN. "Cracking down on crime should not be a partisan issue."
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