Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed executive orders to block US President Donald Trump’s deployment of troops in his city.
According to NBC News, the Democrat mayor of Chicago on Saturday, August 30, signed an executive order to restrict the power of federal law enforcement officers and National Guards after Trump threatened their deployment in Illinois.
Johnson, in a press conference after signing the orders, said, “We find ourselves in a position where we must take immediate, drastic action to protect our people from federal overreach. It is unclear at this time what that will look like exactly.”
“We may see militarised immigration enforcement. We may also see National Guard troops. We may even see active-duty military and armed vehicles in our streets… It’s an area in which at least there’s some semblance of check and balance in this country,” he added.
Johnson also warned that he will use every single tool at their disposal, including courts, to stop this deployment.
Furthermore, the mayor’s executive order also bars Chicago police from assisting federal authorities and collaborating with the US military during “police patrols or civil immigration enforcement. We will not have our police officers, who are working hard every single day to drive down crime, deputised to do traffic stops and checkpoints for the president."
The decision came amid escalating threats from Trump regarding deployment of National Guard troops in other cities after positioning federal law enforcement and troops in major cities, Washington DC and Los Angeles.
