President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Chicago on Saturday, threatening to unleash the so-called “Department of WAR” in a Truth Social post that included an AI-generated image of him as Robert Duvall’s character from the 1979 classic film about the Vietnam War — Apocalypse Now. The caption reads, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” accompanied by the message: “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
The post coincided with the deployment of 300 federal agents to Chicago, using the nearby Great Lakes Naval Station as a logistical hub for expanded immigration enforcement operations. This move follows similar crackdowns in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Last week, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order directing city agencies to resist Trump’s immigration raids, prohibiting local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities in civil enforcement actions. Governor JB Pritzker condemned the federal intervention as illegal and authoritarian, asserting that it undermines democracy and militarizes urban areas.
The situation has sparked protests, with about 200 demonstrators blocking an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center on Friday. Illinois officials say that the deployment is politically motivated.
As federal operations continue, tensions between local and federal authorities escalate, raising questions about the balance of power and the limits of presidential authority in domestic affairs.
