Donald Trump announces a 'surge' of federal law officers in Chicago to work with the city on crime problem
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would "surge" hundreds of federal law enforcement officials into Chicago to help battle gun violence, even as the city's mayor cautioned against unwanted political interference in local operations that has plagued the federal response to sustained civil unrest in Portland, Oregon.
Joined by Attorney General William Barr, Trump promised that the action was just the beginning of federal deployments to cities across the country where crime has spiked in recent months and as the president has sought to raise his sagging political standing.
"Today I'm announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into communities plagued by violent crime," Trump said at a White House "law and order" event shrouded in political overtones.
Trump, struggling in his re-election bid against Democratic challenger Joe Biden, said he would expand a Justice Department program known as "Operation Legend" to Chicago and other cities, including Albuquerque, New Mexico.
About 300 federal law enforcement officers – drawn from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other parts of the Justice Department, along with the Department of Homeland Security – were expected to work with state and local police to apprehend violent criminals.
More than 35 officers are expected to be dispatched to do much the same in Albuquerque, which has also seen escalations in violent crime.
The announcement prompted a mix of apprehension and hope in Chicago, which has been ravaged by gun violence.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot appeared open to the plan, while drawing differences from the Trump administration's aggressive response to the unrest in Portland, where federal officers clashed with protesters as local and city officials called for them to leave the city.
"Federal agents who are here in Chicago have been here for decades. ... They know their city and they live here. ... They're not federal troops," Lightfoot told reporters Wednesday. "They will be plugged in to the existing infrastructure of the agencies, manage and supervise existing cases and investigations. That's a big, important difference."
Albuquerque officials, however, said the federal assistance had not been requested and feared that the city would suffer the same fate as Portland, where protesters have clashed with federal officers almost nightly.
“There’s no place for Trump’s secret police in our city," Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said. "If this was more than a stunt, these politicians would support constitutional crime fighting efforts that work for our community, not turning Albuquerque into a federal police state."
So far, at least, Trump's plan for Chicago and Albuquerque appears to be a departure from a surge of more than 100 federal officers this month in Portland where local leaders have accused their federal counterparts of inflaming sustained demonstrations against police brutality.
The officers, drawn from the ranks of DHS immigration enforcement units, were dispatched to Portland to secure federal buildings that have been targeted by protesters.
At the White House event, Trump said too many Democratic politicians have stood by while the "far left" stages demonstrations in an effort to "break up our police departments." He said "there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments."
In comments that echoed some of his campaign speeches, Trump also linked Democrats to "extreme radical left" elements that are seeking massive changes in education and the economy.
As for the crime issue, Trump spoke at length about the high rates of shooting deaths in Chicago, saying "this bloodshed must end – this bloodshed will end."
Trump has clashed over the years with political leaders in the Windy City, including Lightfoot, who has accused the president of seeking to use her city as a political pawn.
Lightfoot has repeatedly said that Trump should not send federal forces to the city. On Tuesday, she tweeted: “Under no circumstances will I allow Donald Trump’s troops to come to Chicago and terrorize our residents."
On Wednesday, Lightfoot said it's still too early to say whether the federal deployments will help Chicago. She warned that any abuse of authority by federal officers, particularly by the immigration and Border Patrol agents coming from Homeland Security who aren't already in the city, will face legal challenges.
"I’m calling on all Chicagoans that if you see something that doesn’t look right, please, don’t hesitate to report it," she said. "We are going to remain diligent. ... And if we see any steps out of line ... we are not going to hesitate to take the president to court and stop any unconstitutional actions."
Lightfoot later said Trump called her late Wednesday to discuss the plan. The mayor said she made clear to Trump that all federal help “will be investigatory in nature,” and her city would sue the federal government “if there is any deviation from what has been announced.”
Lightfoot and several other big-city mayors wrote to Trump administration officials earlier this week decrying the deployment of federal forces in Portland and accusing the president of using officers and agents for political purposes.
“The unilateral deployment of these forces into American cities is unprecedented and violates the fundamental constitutional protections and tenets of federalism,” the mayors wrote.
More: 'This is not a dictatorship!': Portland protesters push back harder against Trump, federal agents
On Wednesday, more than 100 House Democrats wrote a letter to Trump administration officials demanding more details about the Portland operation. "This is not legitimate law enforcement under our Constitution," the letter said, "but a shocking slide into authoritarianism and police state tactics."
Trump's announcement about Operation Legend came two days after he and other officials said they were weighing Portland-like deployments to Chicago and other cities because of threats from "anarchists."
More: What you need to know on the federal response in Portland and the legal questions it raises
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"We're going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you," Trump said, referring to a possible deployment to other cities. "In Portland, they've done a fantastic job."
Now, Trump's plans to expand Operation Legend – using existing federal law enforcement officials – may signal a de-escalation of his threats to deploy special kinds of forces.
"We will be adding cities in the weeks ahead," Barr said during the White House event.
Barr and Chad Wolf, the acting director of homeland security who also spoke at the White House, drew contrasts between the problems in Portland and those of other cities. They said those different situations require different responses.
The Justice Department announced Operation Legend earlier this month as part of a federal initiative to fight violent crime in the U.S., beginning in Kansas City, Missouri. The project was named after LeGend Taliferro, a 4-year-old boy from the city who was shot and killed in his sleep last month.
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Officials cited the rising number of homicides in Kansas City as the reason for starting the initiative there. The Justice Department has so far sent more than 200 federal deputies and agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to work with state and local officials.
Last year, Albuquerque was one of seven cities identified by the Justice Department for additional federal assistance because of unusually high violent crime levels.
The program, Operation Relentless Pursuit, also surged additional federal agents and other resources to Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis and Milwaukee.
Keller has described crime as “the most pressing issue” in the city.
“I have made public safety my top priority,” according to a message from Keller on the city’s website. ”We are aiming higher when it comes to our expectations of safety and security for the people of Albuquerque by continuing to reform the Albuquerque Police Department."
Contributing: Grace Hauck
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump: Federal law officers to work with Chicago to fight crime
