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US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows a president to deploy military troops within the country, raising tensions in major cities including Chicago and Portland.

 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said he would exercise the power “if necessary.” “I do it if it was necessary. So far, it hasn't been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I do that. If people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure I do that. I mean, I want to make sure that people aren't killed. We have to make sure that our cities are safe,” he added.

 

Trump has pushed for the deployment of National Guard troops along with other federal officers to Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon, citing the need to control crime and protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.

 

Protesters have clashed with ICE officers in both cities as the immigration crackdown has intensified in recent days. A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the administration from deploying the National Guard in Portland.

 

While Chicago also sought a similar injunction, the federal judge refused.

 

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Trump has authorised 300 National Guard troops in Chicago, with around 200 troops from Texas expected to arrive on Wednesday.

 

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, vowed on Monday to use “every lever” to resist, saying the state “will not let the Trump administration continue their authoritarian march without resisting.”

 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also signed an executive order creating “ICE-free zones” and prohibiting federal agents from using certain city-owned areas for immigration enforcement.

 

“We have a rogue, reckless group of heavily armed, masked individuals roaming throughout our city that are not accountable to the people of Chicago,” he said.

 

Trump previously deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles in California in June and to Washington, DC, in August amid similar tensions.