🔗 Share this article

South Dakota's governor, who serves as Donald Trump's homeland security secretary, referred to Chicago as "a combat zone" on Sunday. This occurred following government officers shot a woman, while the governor of Illinois accused the administration of worsening the situation instead of resolving it.

Noem's Comments on Television

During an appearance on a news channel Sunday morning, Noem targeted the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson. The mayor has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s Ice raids and sending of the state troops in Illinois, a measure he called "irrational and harmful".

"It’s wrong, there should be consequences for that and for officials that speak out and knowingly lie about the actual conditions," Noem stated. "Chicago is a war zone and he is dishonest so that lawbreakers can enter and harm residents."

Federal Deployment and Trump's Order

Noem’s remarks followed the president's order to send hundreds of personnel of the state guard to Chicago, with orders to protect government agents and property. This action occurred just weeks after military personnel were sent to Washington, where the president federalized the local police in what he called a "crackdown" on crime, a pattern now extending to multiple other US cities. "We’re going to be doing Chicago probably next," Trump had said at the time.

Noem's Justification of Government Measures

The governor supported the government's strategy, insisting on Fox that locals backed the federal involvement. "Residents know that in areas we've entered we have made it much more free," she remarked. "Safety has improved, we have got a thousand criminals that are off the streets of Chicago, just because our presence is established."

State Leader JB Pritzker Replies

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, the state's Democratic leader, Governor Pritzker, accused the federal government of escalating the crisis rather than solving it. "They are the ones who are making it a war zone," he said.

"They must leave of Chicago. If they’re not going to focus on the worst of the worst, as the president said they intend to do, they need to get the heck out."

Federal Agents Incident Information

Border patrol agents on Saturday shot and injured a female while firing at someone who tried to run them over. The injured female was a US citizen and was armed with a firearm, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated, adding that the woman was alleged in a federal agency intelligence bulletin last week of revealing agents' private information.

The Governor's Condemnation on Social Media

The governor also denounced the action in a message on a social media site on Saturday, writing: "The federal Department of War gave me an ultimatum: mobilize your forces, or we shall." He labeled the decision "completely unacceptable and against American values," and added that it had been made "against our will".