Trump intensifies warnings of war on Chicago due to immigration crackdown

(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has escalated threats to send federal troops to Chicago in connection with immigration enforcement, warning that the city “will soon find out” why he renamed the Defense Department the “Department of WAR.” This statement comes after his directive to intensify deportations in Democrat-led cities following earlier riots in Los Angeles.

On Saturday, Trump shared a post on Truth Social featuring what appears to be an AI-generated image of him in military attire, with the Chicago skyline, helicopters, and flames in the background. Above the picture, he wrote: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning... Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

The caption accompanying the post read: “Chipocalypse Now,” a reference to the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, which includes the line: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Trump did not provide further specifics.

Local officials responded strongly to the warning. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker wrote on X that the president “is threatening to go to war with an American city,” adding, “Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.” Representative Mike Quigley described Trump’s statements as speaking “like a true tyrant,” while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said on X, “The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution.”

Immigration enforcement has been a central focus of Trump’s administration. On Inauguration Day, he pledged to deport “millions and millions” of undocumented immigrants. Since then, his policies have included expanding border security, tripling Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention funding, reducing humanitarian programs, and detaining thousands of undocumented migrants, among other measures.

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