Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has likened the United States under President Donald Trump to the early days of Nazi Germany, as a federal immigration crackdown continues to target Chicago and other major cities.
In an interview with journalist Aaron Parnas, Mr Pritzker said federal agents were "going after people for being brown and Black", including US citizens and those who have done nothing wrong. He said only 2.5 per cent of those arrested in Illinois under the operation had been accused or convicted of a serious crime.
The governor's remarks echo his state of the state address in February, when he said: "It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic." He also said then that "tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance", while democracy requires courage.
This week, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the city of Chicago filed suit against the administration, alleging federal agents have "rampaged" through the city, unlawfully stopping, interrogating and arresting residents, and attacking them with chemical weapons. The lawsuit refers to the Department of Homeland Security's Operation Midway Blitz, which led to more than 4,300 arrests last year, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The White House dismissed the lawsuit as "unserious", with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson saying the administration is "enforcing federal law". She accused Chicago of using "aggressive rhetoric meant to smear law enforcement officers and incite violence against them".
In response, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused Mr Pritzker and other Illinois politicians of releasing "Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers" onto Chicago's streets, making the city a "magnet for criminals". She said the administration's message was clear: "No city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens."
