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Hello and welcome to the most recent developments in American political affairs. We begin with the news that a limited contingent of National Guard troops has begun guarding government facilities in the Chicago area and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, as confirmed by authorities.

Troop Information

An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Greater Chicago region, according to a spokesperson for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the news agency on background basis in order to reveal mission specifics that have not been made public.

The troops are in the city to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command stated publicly.

The troops, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, had reached on Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All five hundred personnel are under the military command and have been activated for 60 days. The spokesperson wasn't able to quickly provide details about how the troops were armed.

Political Context

It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the imprisonment of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, accusing them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

"Chicago Mayor should be in prison for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump wrote on his social media platform on Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker also!"

Both Johnson and Pritzker are members of the Democratic party. Trump's comments come as national guard troops have begun arriving in the Chicago area at the order of the Trump administration, despite objections from Illinois officials, including the governor and mayor.

Other Updates

• The president announced that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a tentative deal to cease hostilities in Gaza, and release Israeli hostages and detained persons.
• News of the Gaza agreement was applauded by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be awarded the peace award this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Palestinian Americans.
• During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'Habeas Corpus' and referred to his homeland security secretary. In May, Noem gave a wildly inaccurate explanation of the core legal principle that mandates that the authorities provide a public reason for arresting and jailing people.
• All of the witnesses who provided statements at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might better be called political content creators. The influencers cover liberal demonstrations in a partisan fashion, more akin to political investigation than neutral journalism.
• Senate Republicans rejected a war powers resolution that would have limited Trump's ability to use lethal armed action against suspected drug smugglers after Democrats tried to counter the government's extraordinary use of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean Sea.
• During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least a participant echoed Trump's inaccurate statement that significant amounts of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in Portland, Oregon. The correct number of killings by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: one.