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Kristi Noem, acting as President Trump's top security official, referred to Chicago as "a war zone" on Sunday. This occurred following government officers shot a woman, and the governor of Illinois accused the administration of worsening the crisis rather than resolving it.

The Governor's Appearance on Television

Speaking on a news channel on Sunday, Noem criticized the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson. The mayor has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s Ice raids and sending of the national guard in Illinois, an action he labeled "irrational and harmful".

"It’s wrong, penalties are necessary for that and for officials that stand up and deliberately mislead about the situation on the ground," Noem stated. "His city is a battlefield and he’s lying so that criminals can go in there and destroy people’s lives."

Government Action and The President's Order

Noem’s remarks came after the president's order to deploy hundreds of personnel of the state guard to Chicago, with instructions to protect government agents and property. The move happened just weeks after national guard troops were sent to Washington, where the president federalized the local police in what he described as a "crackdown" on crime, a strategy now extending to a string of other US cities. "We will address Chicago likely soon," Trump had said previously.

Noem's Defense of Administration Measures

Noem defended the administration’s course of action, insisting on television that residents supported the federal involvement. "Residents know that in areas we've entered we have made it much more free," she remarked. "Safety has improved, we have removed numerous offenders that are off the streets of Chicago, simply because our presence is established."

State Leader JB Pritzker Responds

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, the Democratic Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, claimed the administration of escalating the problem instead of solving it. "They are the ones who are turning it into a battlefield," he stated.

"They need to get out of Chicago. Unless they concentrate on the most dangerous criminals, which is what the commander-in-chief promised they intend to do, they need to get the heck out."

Federal Agents Shooting Details

Border patrol agents on Saturday fired at and wounded a female while shooting at someone who attempted to hit them. The injured female was a American and was armed with a semi-automatic weapon, DHS spokesperson an official said, noting that the woman was alleged in a US Customs and Border Protection alert last week of doxing agents.

Pritzker's Criticism on Social Media

The governor also denounced the action in a message on X on Saturday, stating: "The Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: mobilize your forces, or we shall." Pritzker called the decision "completely unacceptable and against American values," and noted that it had been made "against our will".