Trump Considers Invoking Insurrection Act Against Lawless Governors and Mayors | The Gateway Pundit | by Antonio Graceffo

President Trump’s characterization of Chicago as a battlefield resonates loudly, bolstered by alarming statistics that reveal more fatalities in the city than in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Between 2001 and 2016, Chicago recorded an astonishing 8,229 homicides—surpassing total U.S. military deaths from Afghanistan (2,459 service members and 1,822 contractors) and Iraq (4,518 service members and 281 contractors), which together amount to approximately 8,799 fatalities.

The tragic toll continued into 2020, with an additional 3,276 lives lost. In the most afflicted neighborhoods like Garfield Park, young men faced a staggering firearm homicide rate, soaring to 1,277 per 100,000—a rate more than triple the 395 per 100,000 risk posed to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan during the same period.

As Chicago embraces its identity as a sanctuary city, its leaders have further complicated the problem by refusing to enforce federal immigration laws. The state is home to approximately 511,000 undocumented immigrants, including about 183,000 residing in Chicago—approximately seven percent of the city’s population. Another 125,000 live in suburban Cook County, with an additional 151,000 located in the nearby collar counties. From 2021 to 2023, Illinois’s unauthorized immigrant population surged by over 75,000, one of the most significant increases in the country.

In light of this, state and city officials have instructed police to refrain from collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Meanwhile, federal agents are increasingly met with hostility, encountering protestors who obstruct roads, encircle ICE vehicles, hurl projectiles, and physically confront officers.

The Broadview Processing Center, positioned just outside Chicago, has transformed into a focal point for these volatile altercations. In one alarming incident, ICE agents found themselves flanked by ten vehicles during a routine patrol, forcing them to leave a damaged car behind. Over 200 protesters subsequently blocked the facility’s entrances, with one individual reportedly carrying a firearm. During another confrontation, a woman was injured after allegedly attempting to run down agents amid the chaos.

Federal authorities caution that these violent episodes reflect a broader national trend of escalating aggression against immigration enforcement, evidenced by coordinated attacks on ICE personnel across various states since June 2025.

Despite these illegal acts against federal law, local leaders in Illinois continue to hinder law enforcement’s ability to maintain order. This inaction, coupled with the sanctuary city policy and the failure to shield federal officers, led President Trump to assert that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson “should be in jail.”

In a notable escalation, President Trump directed sharp accusations at Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson this week, asserting they “should be in jail” for their inadequate protection of ICE officials. His statement coincided with the deployment of Texas and Illinois National Guard troops to the Chicago region, part of a broader federal initiative to combat crime and enforce immigration regulations. This move sparked fierce pushback from local leaders, marking one of the most significant confrontations yet between the current administration and municipalities governed by Democrats.

Governor Pritzker condemned Trump’s comments as authoritarian, vowing to contest the mobilization through every legal avenue available. “If you come for my people, you come through me,” he declared at a press event, accusing the President of leveraging intimidation tactics. He encouraged residents to use their phones to document federal activities to bolster evidence for potential legal challenges.

Mayor Johnson also expressed his outrage at the President’s remarks, stating that “this is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested,” and he affirmed his resolve not to capitulate. Both officials characterized the deployment as an “authoritarian march” targeting Democratic enclaves. Earlier in the week, Illinois filed a suit aimed at blocking federal intervention, referencing previous court rulings that restricted similar actions in locations like Portland, Oregon.

Curiously, Mayor Johnson did not clarify his assertion that President Trump previously sought the unjust arrest of a Black individual. Given the current scenario—where the mayor appears to be neglecting his obligations to safeguard public safety while harboring individuals wanted for federal offenses—one might argue that arresting him for these derelictions could be justified.

Moreover, it raises an eyebrow that both the governor and the mayor label the enforcement of immigration laws an “authoritarian march,” considering that existing regulations mandate visas, residency, and work permits for lawful stay in the U.S., with violators subject to arrest and deportation. After all, laws governing property taxes and vehicle registration are strictly enforced within the city. Why, then, is it deemed authoritarian to uphold immigration law?

Trump has warned that he may invoke the Insurrection Act should state governors or city mayors persist in resisting federal authority. This law, seldom wielded since the LA riots of 1992, enables the President to deploy active-duty military personnel domestically to enforce federal regulations and restore order.

On October 6^th, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson formalized an executive order prohibiting federal immigration authorities, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), from utilizing any city-owned or controlled properties for civil immigration enforcement. This ban covers all city spaces—including lots, garages, and vacant areas, such as those of Chicago Public Schools—explicitly forbidding federal agents from utilizing these sites as staging or processing zones for immigration operations.

In reaction to the order, the White House denounced the measure as “a disgusting betrayal of every law-abiding citizen.” By designating city areas as “ICE-free zones,” Johnson is accused of prioritizing “criminal illegal alien predators” over the safety of Chicago families. Johnson defended his stance, asserting that if Congress fails to rein in federal immigration enforcement, “then Chicago will.”

President Trump has signaled that he might leverage the Insurrection Act if legal channels are blocked by governors or mayors, stymying federal efforts to safeguard ICE personnel or address escalating violence. “If people were being killed, and courts were holding us up, or if governors or mayors were blocking progress—sure, I’d consider that,” he remarked earlier in the week. White House officials described their approach as “climbing an escalatory ladder,” underscoring that every other option would be exhausted first.

Historically, the Insurrection Act has been invoked by presidents such as Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson amid the Civil Rights Movement to enforce desegregation mandates when local authorities faltered. Trump’s advisors, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, contend that the present wave of defiance by Democratic leaders parallels those past encounters—constituting organized resistance against federal law.