Trump Calls for Chicago Mayor and Illinois Governor to Be Jailed

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to be jailed for their opposition to his deployment of the National Guard and accompanying immigration crackdown in “Windy City.” “Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel. His comments come a day after hundreds of Texas National Guard troops arrived at an army training center outside the city, where they could be ready to deploy as early as Wednesday. Read more: ‘Push Back Against Tyranny’: Chicago and Illinois Fight Trump’s Intensifying Crackdown Chicago has become the center of a battle over the Trump Administration’s use of National Guard troops and federal agents to enforce an immigration crackdown in Democratic-run cities against the objections of local and state leaders. In the past month, the administration has launched an increase in federal immigration raids and arrests as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” including a raid involving more than 100 agents that made use of Blackhawk helicopters and drew outrage after children were separated from their parents and U.S. citizens were detained. Mayor Johnson ordered the creation of “ICE-free zones” throughout the city on Monday to limit the areas where federal authorities can operate. The same day, Illinois and Chicago sued the Administration over the deployment of National Guard troops to the city, describing it as “patently unlawful,” and asking the court to “halt the illegal, dangerous, and unconstitutional federalization of members of the National Guard of the United States, including both the Illinois and Texas National Guard.” A federal judge declined to immediately block the National Guard from being sent to the city, scheduling a hearing for Thursday. Pritzker called the deployment of federal troops to Illinois an “unconstitutional invasion” meant to “justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers” in a press conference on Monday. “Let me be clear, Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,” Pritzker said. He added that Chicago has seen its lowest homicide rate in 60 years, along with record employment levels. “I refuse to let Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and Gregory Bovino continue on this march toward autocracy,” he continued, naming the Homeland Security Secretary and Border Patrol commander as well as the President. “The state of Illinois is going to use every lever at our disposal to resist this power grab and get Noem’s thugs the hell out of Chicago.” Johnson, meanwhile, urged Chicago residents to “push back against tyranny” through political organization. Trump is also facing blowback for his calls to deploy troops in Portland, Oregon. “Portland is burning to the ground” and is plagued by “insurrectionists all over the place”, the President said—a statement that does not match images and videos from the ground. A federal judge blocked the President’s deployment of the National Guard to Portland, saying that he “exceeded his constitutional authority.”