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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The U.S. has launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites as Tehran retaliated against U.S. positions across the region, while Iranian officials said at least five people were killed and dozens wounded at a wedding near Sirik.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August 30 and 2 September.
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The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas says the bloc will tighten enforcement of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers were meeting in Ireland following renewed Russian strikes on cities across Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has rejected claims that Moroccan authorities orchestrated July’s deadly mass border crossing into Ceuta, saying Spain has found no evidence that Rabat planned or carried out the incident.
Denmark’s Security and Intelligence Service, PET, has warned that Russia is actively preparing sabotage operations against targets in the country, with defence companies supporting Ukraine seen as a particular focus.
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to raise bilateral trade to $200 million within two years, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concluded a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan.
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