US President Donald Trump yesterday called for jailing Chicago’s mayor and Illinois’ governor, both Democrats, as his administration prepared to deploy military troops to the streets of the third-largest US city.
Trump’s call to imprison the two prominent opponents of his immigration crackdown comes as another high-profile political rival, former FBI director James Comey, was due to appear in court to face criminal charges that have been widely criticized as flimsy.
Trump has frequently called for jailing his opponents since he first entered politics in 2015, but Comey is the first to face prosecution.
Photo: AFP
On his social media platform, Trump accused Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker of failing to protect immigration officers who have been operating in Chicago.
“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump wrote, referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.
Hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers have gathered at an army facility outside Chicago, over the objections of Pritzker, Johnson and other Democratic leaders in the state. Trump has threatened to deploy troops to more US cities as well.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
The exact mission of the soldiers was not clear, although the Trump administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building outside Chicago in Broadview, Illinois.
The president has called Chicago a “hell hole” of crime, although police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides.
In Memphis, Tennessee, police Chief Cerelyn Davis said a small group of commanders were already in the city, planning for the arrival of National Guard troops.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, has said troops would be deputized by the US Marshals Service to “play a critical support role” for local law enforcement, although that role has not been precisely defined yet.
Illinois and Chicago are urging a federal judge to stop “Trump’s long-declared ‘War’” on the state. A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for today.
In Oregon, a judge over the weekend blocked the National Guard’s deployment to Portland.
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