President Donald Trump revealed he will decide whether to pursue a crime crackdown in Chicago in the “next day or two,” pointing to the successes of his efforts to tackle crime in Washington, D.C.
Trump gave the new timeline while talking to reporters just outside Washington on Sunday night, saying he could solve the crime problem in Chicago “very quickly.”
“Chicago is a very dangerous place, and we have a governor that doesn’t care about crime,” Trump said, referring to Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL). “We’re going to make a decision as to where we go over the next day or two.”
Trump has teased the crime crackdown for weeks now, regularly sparring with Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both of whom have fired back.
Pritzker has insisted there is no crime “emergency” that would warrant a National Guard deployment like the one used in Washington, while Johnson recently signed an executive order designed to limit collaboration between local city police officers and such troops.
The two state leaders may not only be facing a crackdown on crime, however.
Border czar Tom Homan suggested last week that any federal forces deployed to Chicago will primarily be there to tackle illegal immigration.
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He reiterated that plan on Sunday, saying the public should expect increased immigration enforcement in sanctuary cities, which includes Chicago.
“We’ve got to send additional resources to the problem areas, which are sanctuary cities,” Homan said.