🔗 Share this article Trump Calls for Imprisonment of Chicago Leader and Illinois Governor as National Guard Arrive in Metropolis Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers. "The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!" The two leaders are members of the Democratic party. These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson. "This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere." The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?" By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts. Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders. That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities. Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December. Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview. Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous". A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day. The mayor also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts. The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces". During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority." The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law. Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers. Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data. New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.