Trump Calls for Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor and State Executive as National Guard Arrive in City
Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment 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 Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying 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 immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.