The Trump administration is preparing to deploy military forces, most likely National Guard members, in Chicago, making it the third city to see such a deployment in his second term after Los Angeles and Washington D.C. This move is part of efforts to pursue criminals, homelessness, and illegal immigration. According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon has been planning for weeks a military deployment in Chicago as President Donald Trump seeks to combat crime, homelessness, and illegal immigrants. This could serve as a model for other major cities if approved. The plan includes options for deploying several thousand National Guard members as early as September in the third-largest U.S. city by population. If approved, the mission would resemble the controversial June operation in Los Angeles, where Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines despite protests from state and local leaders.

The use of active-duty troops in Chicago was discussed but is considered less likely. The plan reinforces Trump’s use of military force locally, even as state and local authorities describe it as unjustified and unwelcome. Administration officials defend the plans as necessary steps to restore law and order. Trump recently spoke about the ongoing National Guard presence in Washington D.C., where over 2,200 guardsmen are deployed in what he described as a delayed effort to combat crime, hinting at Chicago as the next target. Trump described chaos in Chicago and criticized the city’s mayor as incompetent, comments immediately condemned by city leaders as baseless. Officials familiar with the plan say the military intervention in Chicago has been long in planning, likely coinciding with expanded immigration and customs enforcement operations targeting undocumented immigrants.

This comes as federal authorities seek new ways to intensify identification and deportation of illegal immigrants, including challenging sanctuary policies, aiming to carry out at least 3,000 arrests daily as directed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The Pentagon stated it is a planning organization working continuously with partner agencies on plans to protect federal assets and personnel. The Pentagon’s future deployment plans come amid pressure from the Trump administration on local and state officials to allow the federal government to do more to find and deport illegal immigrants. Recently, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to many state and local leaders stating that sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and will be legally challenged. Meanwhile, Democratic officials in Chicago and Illinois accuse Trump of trying to create chaos. Illinois Governor J.B.

Pritzker said that after using Los Angeles and Washington as testing grounds for his authoritarian reach, Trump is now openly proposing control over other states and cities. He added that Trump’s goal is to instill fear in communities and undermine existing public safety efforts to justify further abuse of power. Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson said city officials take Trump’s statements seriously but have not received any official communication from the Trump administration regarding increased law enforcement or military deployment in the city. He added, “We have huge concerns about the illegal deployment of National Guard forces in Chicago. The problem with the president’s approach is that it is unnecessary, uncoordinated, and inappropriate.”