How Should Activists Engage With Troops Deployed in Our Cities?

"Whether or not troops actually arrive in Chicago, the political trajectory is clear. Trump is using the US military and the threat of federal occupation to terrorize Democratically governed cities - particularly those where Black mayors are defying his authoritarian edicts. Those federal occupations will be bolstered by the addition of 10,000 new ICE agents, who are currently being recruited."

"A day later, Trump seemed to pivot, floating the idea of sending troops to New Orleans instead - where, he noted, a Republican governor would welcome his interventions. Then, on Saturday, Trump escalated again: posting an AI-slop Apocalypse Now-style image of himself in war gear, with a burning Chicago skyline behind him and the words, "Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR.""

Federal forces and National Guard troops have been ordered to perform basic policing actions in U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., with threats to send troops to Chicago and New Orleans. Campaign rhetoric has included an image depicting a burning Chicago skyline and the phrase 'Department of WAR.' The administration is leveraging the military and plans to recruit 10,000 new ICE agents to bolster federal occupations and expand raids on immigrant communities. Democratically governed cities, especially those led by Black mayors, face intimidation. Activists must decide how to engage deployed Guard members in neighborhoods and how to mount counter-recruitment efforts against ICE.

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