Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Leader and State Executive as Military Forces Deploy in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.