Trump Calls for Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor and Illinois Governor as National Guard Deploy in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.