Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Leader and State Executive as National Guard Deploy in City
Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.