The New Arab: Thousands in Chicago protest Donald Trump's National Guard deployment
Demonstrators in Chicago protest over military deployment in city. [Photo courtesy of Jordan Esparza-Kelley]
Wednesday saw one of the largest demonstrations in Chicago since US President Donald Trump threatened to deploy federal troops to the city, with residents coming out on short notice in support of immigrants, government workers and local leaders.
Comprising a broad coalition of people from diverse backgrounds and interests, the demonstrations took over major streets with people holding signs reading, "Stop ripping families apart", "No ICE No Guard", "No kings", and "Stop the Trump Agenda". Many held signs in Spanish and wore keffiyehs.
"Here in Chicago, we're going to fight them in the streets, in the courts and in the legislative bodies. But not violently, because we're not like them. We're not going to intimidate them because we don't like a ruling," Byron Sigcho-Lopez, member of the city council in Chicago's 25th ward, told The New Arab, shortly after Wednesday's demonstration.
Sigcho-Lopez was referring to recent intimidation tactics by the Trump administration towards judges who have ruled against his policies. So far, around 95 per cent of the US president's orders have been struck down by judges, often followed by threats towards them and their families.
In Chicago specifically, Trump has threatened the city's mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker with arrest, both of whom have been publicly speaking out against federal troop deployment. Both leaders have sued the administration to block the deployment of the National Guard in their city and state.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump posted on Wednesday, "Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!"
On Tuesday, it was reported that National Guard members were settling in at a military base near Chicago. On Wednesday night, troops were spotted at a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Also on Wednesday, ICE officers were seen on a local university campus.
Chicago is one of several cities that Trump has repeatedly pointed to as a high-crime city that needs intervention, despite its drop in crime in recent years. Other cities on Trump's deployment list—in addition to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.—include Baltimore, Oakland, Memphis, and Portland, all of which are run by Democratic mayors.
Chicago is a diverse city with Black and Hispanic populations of around 30 per cent each, and the city's metro area is home to one of the largest gatherings of Palestinians in the country. It is the birthplace of Labour Day and remains a hub of an active workers' movement.
Though Trump has repeatedly pointed to high crime as the main reason for military deployment, the crime rate in Chicago, like in most other major US cities, is far lower than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. More recently, according to city government statistics, shootings have dropped 38 per cent in the first six months of this year.
"What people should know about Chicago is that it's the best city in the world," Jordan Esparza-Kelley, communications coordinator with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told TNA, speaking while marching in Wednesday's demonstration.
"Trump ran on fixing the economy. Sadly, he is crashing economies across major cities. The area where I live is practically a ghost town," he said, referring to his suburb with a high Hispanic population. Many immigrants across the country have ceased going out to shops, work, school, or even immigration hearings, for fear of being taken into custody by ICE.
Currently, he says, as they face more threats in Chicago, one of the main priorities for CAIR-Chicago is to increase its capacity to serve the community and develop coalitions with other groups.
"This is the moment for our city to fight back," said Sigcho-Lopez, the city council member. "It matters that we're in the streets. All dictators have fallen."