Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Leader and State Executive as Military Forces Arrive in City
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances 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 homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.