Trump to send federal agents to U.S. cities ‘plagued by violent crime’

"Today, I'm announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime. We'll work every single day to restore public safety, protect our nation's children, and bring violent perpetrators to justice." pic.twitter.com/gW3cvld1Tr

— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) July 22, 2020

United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump announced that his administration would send federal law enforcement officers to American communities where “violent crime” is prevailing.

In a speech at the White House on Wednesday, July 22, Trump said “hundreds of skilled” federal agents will be sent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to Chicago “to help drive down violent crime.”

Trump said this is part of the so-called “Operation LeGend” which was launched in Kansas City, Missouri, and was named after four-year-old Legend Taliferro who was shot and killed while asleep in his home in the aforementioned city.

“We’ll work every single day to restore public safety, protect our nation’s children, and bring violent perpetrators to justice,” the President said.

“We’ve been doing it, and you’ve been seeing what’s happening all around the country. We’ve just started this process, and, frankly, we have no choice but to get involved,” he added.

Speaking during the same event, Attorney General William Barr said that aside from Chicago, they are also planning to send law enforcement officers to Albuquerque and in other cities in the following weeks.

According to him, they already sent 200 federal agents to Kansas City, and the same number of officers are expected to be provided to Chicago. Meanwhile, 35 more agents will be sent to Albuquerque.

Earlier, more than a dozen of mayors urged the Trump administration in a letter addressed to Barr and Acting Secretary of the DHS Chad Wolf to withdraw federal forces and stop plans to send them in other U.S. cities, stressing that such move “is unprecedented and violates fundamental constitutional protections and tenets of federalism.”

Today I signed onto a letter with Mayor Wheeler, Mayor Lightfoot, and others–asking the Dept. of Justice and the Dept. of Homeland Security to withdraw these forces and end this strategy immediately. pic.twitter.com/ftvHPIE6Hm

— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) July 21, 2020

The letter said the federal forces in Portland, Oregon used “significant force” against protesters on a nightly basis, accusing the officers of “shooting” a person in the head with a munition which reportedly fractured his skull, while others “snatched an individual from the street without proper identification and placed him in an unmarked vehicle.”

The signatories said it was something they “expect from authoritarian regimes” and not democracy.

In a news conference following Trump’s announcement, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot slammed the federal action in Portland, saying she will not allow it to happen in her city. The mayor, however, said if the deployed agents in Chicago will be working “in partnership on support of gun violence and violent cases, plugging into existing infrastructure federal agents, not trying to play police in our streets, then that’s something different and that may add value.”

PRESS CORPS MEETING: Tune in to watch remarks from Mayor Lightfoot following today's City Council meeting. #ChiCityCouncil https://t.co/NtzK716ZSg

— Archived: Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@mayorlightfoot) July 22, 2020

“But the proof is going to be in the pudding. It’s too soon to say if this is a value add or not,” she added.

Lightfoot said they will remain observant, and if anything seems to be wrong with regards to the officers’ actions, she urged Chicagoans to report it to authorities.

“If we see any steps out of line, particularly with DHS, or border patrol, we are not going to hesitate to take the President to court and stop any unconstitutional actions,” she said.

For his part, Mayor Tim Keller said, they welcome partnerships in the constitutional fight against crime, but noted that they will not “sell out our city for a bait and switch excuse to send secret police to Albuquerque.”

Operation Legend is not real crime fighting; it’s politics standing in the way of constitutional police work and makes us less safe. pic.twitter.com/E3LOFfbM40

— Mayor Tim Keller (@MayorKeller) July 23, 2020

Trump made the announcement after it was reported that 15 individuals were injured in a shooting outside a funeral home in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood in Chicago on Tuesday. Lightfoot condemned the incident and asked anyone who has information about it to come forward or send a tip anonymously at cpdtip.com.