Donald Trump has declared victory in Chicago after a weeks-long effort to purge the city of illegal immigrants and stamp out crime.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday night, Trump claimed that crime rates had plummeted since his intervention on September 8, despite ‘radical opposition’ from Democrat Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker.
Pritzker, along with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, have staunchly opposed any federal intervention in the city, accusing Trump of inciting violence to ‘intimidate his political rivals.’
‘I am proud to announce that Chicago, Illinois, despite all of the radical opposition and obstruction we have from the Mayor and the Governor, has seen car theft, shootings, robberies, violent crime, and everything else, drop dramatically,’ Trump announced.
Trump said that the Department of Homeland Security operation ‘Midway Blitz’ had resulted in a reduction in shootings by 35 percent, robberies by 41 percent and carjackings by almost 50 percent.
‘This is with just a small initial Federal Force, not the full ‘surge’ we have done in Chicago and Memphis,’ he added.
‘As we ramp up more assets, these numbers will continue to drop.’
Trump went on to boast that his feat ‘has been achieved despite the extraordinary resistance from Chicago and Illinois Radical Democrat ‘Leadership.’
Trump said that the Department of Homeland Security operation ‘Midway Blitz’ had resulted in a reduction in shootings by 35 percent, robberies by 41 percent and carjackings by almost 50 percent
The president declared victory in Chicago after a weeks-long effort to purge the city of illegal immigrants and stamp out crime amid mass protests (pictured)
He also blamed ‘the constant Violent Leftwing Terrorism against ICE Officers and Federal Agents that Insurrectionist Democrat Officials refuse to stop or prosecute, including constant physical assault and attempted assassination.’
Back in August, Pritzker warned: ‘Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here.
‘This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city… to try and intimidate his political rivals… It is illegal. It is unconstitutional. And it is un-American.’
After Trump sent in his agents anyway, Pritzker doubled down, insisting ‘there is no emergency in Chicago that requires the National Guard.’
Federal officials, ICE agents and Border Patrol authorities flooded Chicago in early September at Trump’s request, arresting thousands of illegal immigrants, violent criminals and gang members.
But their intervention ramped up violent protests in and around the city as locals attempted to interfere with ICE operations, ram cars belonging to federal officials and even shoot at agents.
‘Over the past two months, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and obstruction targeting federal law enforcement during operations,’ the DHS said in a statement last week after two border patrol agents were shot at while on the job.
‘These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement. The violence must end.’
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday night, Trump claimed that crime rates had plummeted since his intervention on September 8, despite ‘the radical opposition’ from Democrat Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are seen conducting operations in Chicago
The administration has repeatedly called out both Pritzker and Johnson for inciting violence through their own condemnation of the administration and the actions of ICE agents.
Trump went so far as to demand they both be arrested for their efforts.
‘The president is unstable. We know that. He’s a double-minded man, and he is also very simple-minded. And it’s totally not the first time that Trump has called for a Black man to be arrested,’ Johnson said in response.
In October, Johnson signed a mayoral executive order which established ‘ICE-free zones’ and prohibited the use of parking garages and spaces for ICE agents.
He and Pritzker had tried to keep federal agents and National Guard troops out of the city by filing legal complaints against their deployment.
‘We will keep defending the sovereignty of our state,’ Pritzker said in October when Trump challenged the lawsuit.
‘Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy.’
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump lamented the ’28 percent vacancy factor’ in Chicago’s ‘Miracle Mile.’
Police officers are seen forcing a protestor to the ground as they make an arrest
Police officers hold batons as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conduct operations in the Little Village neighborhood, a predominantly Mexican-American community
‘The Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Chicago, once considered our Nation’s BEST, now has a more than 28% vacancy factor,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
He said the shopping center ‘is ready to call it quits unless something is done about the murder and crime, which is prevalent throughout the City.
‘CALL IN THE TROOPS, FAST, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!’
Chicago doesn’t have a ‘Miracle Mile’, though Trump, 79, was likely referring to the city’s Magnificent Mile – a commercial district that is also home to several landmarks including the Chicago Water Tower and the John Hancock Centre.
In September, six people were arrested after smashing in the windows of the Rolex Store on the Magnificent Mile, before stealing merchandise.
That same month, Trump foreshadowed his desire to step up enforcement in Chicago with a Truth Social post that included an AI-generated image of himself wearing a cowboy hat with military helicopters flying behind him.
‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,’ he wrote.