🔗 Share this article Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Leader and Illinois Governor as National Guard Deploy in City Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents. "The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!" Both officials are members of the Democratic faction. Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor. "This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put." The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations. The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides. On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities. Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December. The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview. Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky". Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day. Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts. The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns". At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command." The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority. After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents. Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data. A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.