As has happened this time, a war zone occurred, not a war between countries but a war zone that occurred in the United States where Trump as President of the United States with immigrants in Chicago through the Midway Blitz operation. This incident occurred on September 30, 2025, namely a military operation in South Shore, Chicago. Which in this area is mostly inhabited by black communities and is also one of the immigrants, initially the arrest operation carried out by the US military was aimed at arresting criminal illegal aliens or people suspected of committing crimes. However, this military operation led to protests from the public because the actions of the military were considered too harsh and excessive, where the mass arrests were considered a war zone.
So why is it called “War Zone”?
The actions taken by Trump were initially to arrest illegal criminals committed by several local residents in South Shore, Chicago. However, the main problem is that the military officers carried out their activities quite aggressively, such as searching several homes of residents who were not even involved at all in this case and firing tear gas bullets and tear gas grenades, so that this activity was responded to by JB Pritzker (Governor of the State of Illinois) who considered that the strategy carried out by Trump was to create a pretext for rebellion in order to send troops directly so that Trump justified his soldiers to carry out violence under his direct command, but this was actually considered a repressive action by the armed forces, therefore this military operation was called a war zone because the actions of the United States army were excessive so that the local community considered that this had entered the category of human rights violations.
Framing is done because of the two words “War Zone”
Framing serves to select or highlight certain aspects of reality in order to shape the public’s understanding of an issue. In the case of Chicago, framing becomes an important tool that influences public opinion. The operation carried out was framed on law enforcement to arrest a group of immigrants who committed crimes, the arrests were carried out by repressive armed forces, and the mass arrests carried out in the middle of the night sparked protests from the surrounding community, so that the media, activists, and the public considered this a human rights violation and an act of violence carried out by armed forces, therefore the label “War Zone” created a strong frame to describe the violence experienced by civilians. Initially, through these arrests, the legitimacy of the state was seen as maintaining order and using legitimate military force because of
In addition to the framing itself, through this case it can be seen that there is propaganda going on, where social media becomes a strategic tool to shape public opinion, which in the end the media and society frame a situation that is contrary to what the government intends, the media tries to highlight the case from another point of view that is contrary to the goals carried out by the government, this is what causes pros and cons in a case, but sometimes how the media and society highlight an issue also has a good impact, which can also increase our understanding by assessing or viewing a case from a different perspective.
Illinois and City of Chicago Lawsuit
After the rebellion that occurred, the state of Illinois filed a lawsuit in federal court (Northern District of Illinois) on October 6, 2025, the purpose of this lawsuit is for the Trump Administration to stop its actions or stop Trump’s plan to transfer state control to federal control and also to be able to send around 300 National Guard troops from Texas to Chicago, while the number of Texas troops is around 400 troops and the assignment time itself is around 60 days and may be longer. Through this lawsuit, it can be seen that this lawsuit highlights federal actions that violate state sovereignty or self-governance, but the point of view of the Trump administration itself is that what they did was right on the basis of legitimate authority to protect federal property, especially if there are riots or threats that are expected to disrupt the implementation of federal law.
Political Communication
Political communication is something that includes how the message of politics itself can be spread and influence public opinion and behavior, where the political actors involved produce political messages or actions that are intended to influence the public, then how the media conveys the news and how the public responds to the message, in the case of Trump vs Illinois-Chicago, which was initially the Trump administration that created a public narrative that the city was unsafe because of its liberal policies and protection for immigrant communities, then how the media highlighted this issue and how the public received this issue because there were some people who were pro Trump and some people who considered this as a protest, through this case we can see that the image of politics was very strong and could be influenced by how the media
highlighting and how the public responds, such as the Trump Administration which builds a political image that is in accordance with the legitimacy of liberal actions and emphasizes maintaining security, but on the other hand the Illinois government itself considers this action as a case of violence carried out by armed forces and is considered an act of discrimination against immigrant communities, proving that the mass media is a battle for both opinions, because of this, why the mass media plays a very important role in the framing that I previously explained, which ultimately how this issue can highlight and shape public opinion itself
The legal basis is actually the opposite of what the public views. It is precisely through these two things that the military operation carried out to enforce the law has actually influenced some members of society to see this as an act of violence and criminalization of immigrants.
In general, through this case, it can be concluded that political communication in the mass media is very influential in how it ultimately forms the pros and cons of an issue, in this case the public takes over as the recipient of the public communication and becomes the creator of social pressure, in this case the public, especially in the Chicago area, is urging an immediate stop to this case. Through this political communication approach, it is also clear that the dynamics of this conflict include a symbolic battle to control the political narrative in front of the media and the public.
