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Hello and welcome to the latest developments in American political affairs. We start with the report that a limited contingent of state military forces has begun guarding government facilities in the Greater Chicago region and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, as confirmed by authorities.

Deployment Details

An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were operating in the Greater Chicago region, as stated by a representative for the US Northern Command, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss mission specifics that have not been officially released.

The troops are in the urban area to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command said online.

The forces, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, had reached on Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been deployed for 60 days. The official wasn't able to immediately offer details about how the personnel were equipped.

Political Context

It coincides with Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the state governor, charging them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

"Chicago Mayor should be in prison for not protecting Ice Officers!" Trump wrote on his social media platform on Wednesday morning. "The state governor also!"

Both Johnson and Pritzker are members of the Democratic party. Trump's remarks coincide with national guard troops have started deployment in the Chicago area at the direction of the federal administration, despite opposition from state authorities, including the governor and mayor.

Other Updates

• Donald Trump declared that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a tentative deal to end the fighting in Gaza, and free captured individuals and Palestinian prisoners.
• News of the Middle East deal was applauded by Republican lawmakers, who called on Trump to be awarded the peace award this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Palestinian Americans.
• During White House event, Trump seemed unfamiliar with the term 'Habeas Corpus' and deferred to his homeland security secretary. In May, Noem gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the core legal principle that requires that the government provide a official justification for arresting and jailing people.
• All of the witnesses who provided statements at the White House "antifa roundtable" organized by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might more accurately described as political content creators. The content producers cover liberal demonstrations in a partisan fashion, more similar to political investigation than neutral journalism.
• GOP senators voted down a military authorization measure that would have checked Trump's authority to use lethal armed action against alleged narcotics traffickers after Democrats tried to counter the administration's extraordinary use of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean.
• During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least a participant repeated Trump's false claim that large numbers of people have been killed by political extremists in Portland, Oregon. The accurate count of fatal incidents by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: one.