Trump Calls for Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor and State Executive as National Guard Arrive in Metropolis
Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
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 the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
