Chicago braces for troop deployment as Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act

Washington, Oct 7 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act – an 1807 law that allows a (US) president to deploy military troops inside the country.

While speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said he’ll use the powers “if necessary.”

“I do it if it was necessary. So far, it hasn't been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I do that. If people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure I do that. I mean, I want to make sure that people aren't killed. We have to make sure that our cities are safe,” he added.

Trump has attempted to deploy National Guards along with other federal officers to Chicago in Illinois and Portland in Oregon, arguing that they are necessary to control crime and protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

Protesters have clashed with ICE officers in both Chicago and Portland as the immigration crackdown has intensified in recent days.

A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the administration from deploying the National Guard in Portland. While Chicago also demanded a similar stay from the court, the federal judge refused to agree.

Trump has authorised the deployment of 300 National Guard troops in Chicago, and around 200 troops from Texas are expected to arrive in the city and are likely to be deployed on Wednesday.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, on Monday vowed to use “every lever” and vowed that the state “will not let the Trump administration continue their authoritarian march without resisting.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also signed an executive order, aiming to create “ICE-free zones” and prohibiting federal agents from using a few city-owned areas for immigration enforcement.

"We have a rogue, reckless group of heavily armed, masked individuals roaming throughout our city that are not accountable to the people of Chicago," he said.

In June, Trump deployed the National Guard troops to Los Angeles in California, and to Washington, DC, in August.

--IANS

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