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South Dakota's governor, who serves as President Trump's top security official, referred to Chicago as "a war zone" on Sunday. This came after federal agents shot a woman, while the governor of Illinois accused the administration of fueling the crisis rather than resolving it.

Noem's Comments on Fox News

Speaking on Fox News Sunday morning, Noem targeted the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson. The mayor has been a vocal critic of the federal immigration operations and sending of the state troops in Illinois, an action he labeled "unhinged and unhealthy".

"It’s wrong, penalties are necessary for that and for officials that speak out and deliberately mislead about the actual conditions," Noem stated. "Chicago is a battlefield and he is dishonest so that lawbreakers can enter and destroy people’s lives."

Government Action and Trump's Order

These comments followed the president's order to deploy 300 members of the state guard to Chicago, with instructions to safeguard federal officers and property. The move occurred just shortly after national guard troops were sent to Washington, where the president federalized the local police in what he described as a "clampdown" on crime, a strategy now extending to a string of other US cities. "We’re going to be doing Chicago probably next," the president stated previously.

Noem's Defense of Administration Measures

The governor supported the government's strategy, insisting on television that residents backed the government intervention. "Residents know that where we have gone we have made it much more free," she said. "Safety has improved, we have removed numerous offenders that are off the streets of Chicago, simply because we’ve been there."

State Leader JB Pritzker Replies

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, the Democratic Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, accused the administration of escalating the crisis rather than resolving it. "It is they who are turning it into a battlefield," he said.

"They must leave of Chicago. Unless they concentrate on the worst of the worst, which is what the commander-in-chief promised they intend to do, they should depart immediately."

Border Patrol Shooting Details

Border patrol agents on Saturday fired at and wounded a female while firing at an individual who tried to run them over. The woman who was shot was a US citizen and was carrying a semi-automatic weapon, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, noting that the woman was alleged in a US Customs and Border Protection alert last week of revealing agents' private information.

Pritzker's Condemnation on Online Platform

Pritzker also condemned the deployment in a message on a social media site on Saturday, writing: "The federal security agency gave me an ultimatum: mobilize your forces, or we shall." He labeled the decision "completely unacceptable and against American values," and noted that it had been made "without our consent".