President Donald Trump is insisting on more troops in Chicago. He is calling for immediate reinforcements to tackle what he refers to as “murder and crime” along the city’s famous shopping area. This demand comes even as reports show federal agents are quietly getting ready to withdraw. The situation is striking. Trump is shouting, “CALL IN THE TROOPS, FAST, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” while Homeland Security officials seem to be packing up after two months of chaotic operations.
Late Monday night, Trump used Truth Social to raise concern about what he called the “Miracle Mile Shopping Center.” He claimed it was “once considered our Nation’s BEST” but now has a “28 percent vacancy factor.” He warned that the district was “ready to call it quits unless something is done.” The mistake regarding the name did not go unnoticed. CNN’s Daniel Dale quickly pointed out that the president meant the Magnificent Mile, not “Miracle Mile,” and noted that the area is actually experiencing a “budding recovery,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
There is no “Miracle Mile Shopping Center” in Chicago. There is a commercial corridor known as The Magnificent Mile. It is not quitting (?); vacancy rates are gradually falling from pandemic-era highs. WSJ reported last week: “Shoppers and retailers are returning to the Midwest’s… pic.twitter.com/SJ0OsOamVV
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 11, 2025
While Trump describes a scene of widespread lawlessness, federal immigration agents under Commander Gregory Bovino are reportedly pulling back from Chicago as their contentious mission comes to an end. Bovino, who has led the deployment since early September, is expected to leave soon, with his Border Patrol forces sent elsewhere and the multi-agency task force disbanding. “Every day DHS enforces the laws of this country, including in Chicago,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement. “We do not comment or telegraph future operations.”
The operation, which the administration claims led to over 3,000 arrests, has faced tension and public outrage. Residents in neighborhoods across the city describe a climate of fear and mistrust, with protests occurring almost daily outside immigration offices. Some demonstrations have turned violent. One protest involved two cars accused of ramming a federal van. Another left a Presbyterian minister bleeding after being hit in the head with a pepper-ball. Several nights ended with tear gas seeping into residential streets, causing families to cough in their living rooms and seek safety.
The growing backlash led Bovino and his team into federal court in late October after several civil rights complaints accused them of using excessive force and intimidation tactics. One particularly troubling allegation claimed that a masked agent pointed a gun at a protester and mockingly said, “bang, bang,” followed by “you’re dead, liberal.” These accounts, along with multiple videos of aggressive detentions, have turned public opinion sharply against the operation.
Even state leaders have joined the criticism. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker condemned the federal crackdown as both harmful and cruel, comparing it to “authoritarian policing seen in history’s darkest chapters.” After ICE officers posed for a smiling group photo in front of Chicago’s famous Cloud Gate sculpture, known as “The Bean,” Pritzker responded harshly. “Making fun of our neighborhoods and communities is disgusting,” he said. “Greg Bovino and his masked agents are not here to make Chicago safer. As children are tear-gassed and citizens detained, they are posing for photo ops and creating reality TV moments.”
For now, the city faces two opposing realities: a president who demands more troops to restore order and a federal force already withdrawing. This contrast highlights the strange dissonance characterizing this phase of Trump’s leadership, where rhetoric outpaces reality, and the residents caught in between are simply trying to breathe again.
