Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Leader and Illinois Governor as National Guard Deploy in City
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging 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 early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, 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 restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten 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 necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.