Donald Trump has authorised the deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago in an effort to tackle what he has described as out-of-control crime.
The announcement came just hours after immigration services clashed with protesters in the city. Officials said an “armed woman” was shot dead after she deliberately rammed police vehicles.
Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement:
“Agents were unable to move their vehicles and exited the car. One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon.“
“Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen,” she added.
Chicago is the latest city to see the National Guard deployed, following Washington, Los Angeles, Memphis and Portland.
However, the recent deployments have raised constitutional questions, as the National Guard is usually deployed by a state governor and the federal government’s powers to use the military domestically are limited.
For several weeks, protests against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been intensifying in Chicago.
