Trump Calls for Jailing of Chicago Leader and State Executive as Military Forces Deploy in City

Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.

"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"

Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.

These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.

"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."

The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"

By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.

Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.

On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.

Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.

Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.

Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.

Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".

Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.

The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.

The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" 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 limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.

Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.

Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.

A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.