Chicagoans say they are split over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to the city, with some fearing racism and others welcoming a crackdown on crime.
Protests erupted across Chicago and its suburbs as federal immigration agents and demonstrators clashed, prompting a heavy police presence and the temporary deployment of tear gas.
Residents expressed contrasting views on the National Guard and ICE operations.
Kevin Guano, a 20-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant, called the deployment “racist,” saying Chicago has a long history as an immigrant city and criticised propaganda framing immigrants as harmful.
“So what I think is that it's terrible. I've been here like five months. I'm new in this city. I love the country. I love this city, I love that Chicago style. But I think that Trump is not (making) a good decision, because I've been learning the history of the country. And I know that Chicago is like an immigrant city, it’s been like that. So, it's something contradictory to say or make propaganda about ‘the immigrants are bad’ or ‘they are destroying our country’. So, it is a little ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, longtime resident Joannie Pittman, 63, said she welcomed the presence of federal troops, citing high levels of local violence in neighbourhoods and downtown areas.
“I think of ICE as the President Trump way of cleaning up and, you know, giving the citizens, the people that's here that want to be here a chance to get in because they got so much connection, they're throwing us away. You know, they take us forever just to get one thing, and they just get everything. That's what I feel, but some of them are nice because they live in our area."
Illinois filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block the Trump administration from sending hundreds of federalised National Guard troops into Chicago. The state argues the president has exceeded his authority under federal law, including the Posse Comitatus Act, and infringed upon state control over the National Guard and local law enforcement.
The legal challenge follows similar lawsuits in other Democratic-led states over Trump’s deployment of military forces to cities like Portland, Oregon, and highlights growing tensions over the use of federal troops to enforce immigration policy and suppress protests.
The White House maintains the deployment is necessary to protect federal employees amid ongoing demonstrations.
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Hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers gathered on Tuesday at an Army facility outside Chicago, as Donald Trump's threat to invoke an anti-insurrection law and deploy troops to more U.S. cities intensified the battle over the limits to his authority.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a man Friday in Franklin Park, Illinois, after the suspect drove his car at law enforcement and dragged an officer, federal authorities said.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Chicago will soon face increased deportations, following his controversial renaming of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., to be armed, as the Trump administration continues its controversial crime crackdown in the capital.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 26 May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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Chinese investigators have uncovered hidden tunnels, missing worker trackers and fake underground walls during an initial investigation into the country’s deadliest mining disaster in more than 15 years.
Britain has announced fresh sanctions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, financial networks and banks accused of helping Russia evade Western restrictions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.
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Spanish police visited the headquarters of the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) in Madrid on Wednesday as part of a widening High Court investigation into alleged attempts to interfere with judicial proceedings involving party and government figures.
Latvia is strengthening its anti-drone capabilities along its borders with Russia and Moscow-allied Belarus after several drones entered the NATO member’s airspace, according to a senior military official.
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