Trump Demands Jailing of Chicago Leader and State Executive as National Guard Arrive in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
