National Guard troops are positioned outside Chicago and could be in Memphis by Friday, as President Donald Trump's administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy toward big-city crime — whether local leaders support it or not.

National Guard members from Texas had settled in at an Illinois Army Reserve center by early Wednesday, despite a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from Democratic elected leaders. Their exact mission was not clear. However, the Trump administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building in nearby Broadview.

The president has called Chicago a “hellhole” of crime, although police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including

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