Trump Demands Jailing of Chicago Leader and State Executive as National Guard Deploy in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.