Chicago city leaders and Illinois officials are warning residents of the nation's third-largest city to keep protests from getting out of hand if the Trump administration follows through on its promise to deploy the National Guard. "When it comes to federal agents or the National Guard, these people work for the federal government and their rules of engagement are different," Chicago Police Superintendent warned at a news briefing on Aug. 27. "Keep it peaceful, try not to obstruct or become physical with federal agents or members of the National Guard." The warning from the city's top cop comes as Chicagoans expect the White House to bring itsimmigration crackdownto the city sometime after Labor Day. IllinoisGov. JB Pritzkerwarned Chicagoans to expect military checkpoints with "unidentified officers in maskswhile taking their kids to school." But he asked protesters to refrain from giving federal troops reason to engage. "I know you, Chicago," Pritzker said. "When you protest, do it peacefully, be sure to continue Chicago's long tradition of nonviolent resistance." Protests that saw cars set ablaze over federal immigration enforcement are what prompted Trump to deploy the National Guard and active-duty Marines toLos Angeles. The White House deployed troops toWashington, D.C.after declaring a crime emergency, despite falling violent crime numbers. Violent crime rates are also falling in Chicago, according to police department data. An annual Labor Day march quickly transformed into an anti-Trump protest as soon as the president "said he was going to bring an occupying force to our city," Stacy Davis Gates, president of the city's powerful teacher's union, told USA TODAY. "It feels chaotic, aggressive, intimidating, unnecessary and it feels racist," said Davis Gates, who is Black. "Having an occupying force in an American city sent by an American president is wrong, it's bad for the taxpayer, it shifts valuable resources from need to intimidation." If Trump wanted to help Chicago, Davis Gates said, themillions of dollarsspent deploying troops and making Immigration and Customs Enforcement the largest law enforcement agency in the world would go instead to supporting Chicagoans in need of food and healthcare and supporting the education of Chicago residents. Davis Gates said that union members working in Chicago public schools in the city's Latino neighborhoods reported dropping attendance amid the Trump administration's early immigration enforcement efforts. She said she fears that this time around the fear felt by Latino students will now also be felt by the system's Black students who could be subject to checkpoints or scrutiny from federal troops. "We are all very concerned because the pretext is undocumented people and once they're in on pretext, we see that they descend on Black neighborhoods in all kinds of unconstitutional ways," said the teachers' union president, referring to the federal crackdown in D.C. "Our educators are, needless to say, quite nervous about this." Superintendent Snelling made it clear at a briefing with reporters that he did not plan to expect to deploy his officers alongside federal troops. But he also warned that he was not in a position to stop them either. "Our officers will not be in those areas assisting in any way when it comes to immigration enforcement," Snelling said. "But also we do not want to engage in a way where we're obstructing federal agents, we will not interfere with the work that they're doing." Snelling, who oversaw the city's handling of protests during theDemocratic National Conventionand was often on the ground himself amid thousands of people marching, said he hoped things would remain as peaceful as they were last summer. He also stressed that Chicago police will not begin asking people in the city about their immigration status. "We don't care," he said. "What we care about is making sure that person is safe in getting the help that they need. We're going to continue to make sure to stand up for people in the city." The Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights has taken steps to prepare for Trump's immigration crackdown by staffing up its hotline where people can call for immediate assistance and making their rapid response teams ready. Spokesperson Brandon Lee said the organization hopes efforts to teach Chicagoans what their rights are when faced with arrest will keep people safe. The rapid response teams, Lee said, would be called to the scene where immigration agents have been reported in order to share information on what rights people have, not to interfere with the agents. Lee said he expects more protests will be planned after troops are deployed. But he said that advocates would ensure demonstrations remained peaceful. "We understand that Trump is trying to turn up the temperature and in organizing we're not going to take that bait," Lee said. "If we keep coming together peaceful, we'll be able to push back and keep our families and communities safe as best we can." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Keep it peaceful,' Chicago top cop warns ahead of Trump deployment
