Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Leader and Illinois Governor as National Guard Arrive in City
Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.