Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor and Illinois Governor as National Guard Deploy in Metropolis
Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.