Trump Calls for Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor and Illinois Governor as Military Forces Deploy in Metropolis
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor 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 party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. 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 approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.