Reference News Network, October 10 report - According to the website of The Washington Post on October 8, U.S. President Donald Trump called on October 8 for two Democrats - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor Jay Robert Pritzker - to be put in prison, citing their failure to "protect" Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel who were sent to the city.

This statement marks a further escalation of the conflict against Democratic leaders in Illinois, who have consistently opposed Trump's immigration crackdown in the state. There is no evidence that Johnson or Pritzker did anything that would warrant imprisonment, and the White House did not specify which laws it believes they violated.

Trump wrote on his "Truth Social" website: "The mayor of Chicago failed to protect ICE officers and should be in jail! Governor Pritzker should be too!"

Pritzker and Johnson both responded strongly to Trump. Pritzker, a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election, wrote on the social platform X: "I will not back down. Trump is calling for the arrest of elected representatives who are holding him accountable."

Johnson posted on social media that Trump was trying to get him "unfairly arrested," and said, "I'm not going anywhere."

The Department of Justice declined to comment on Trump's post. The White House refused to provide more information about Trump's request to imprison Johnson and Pritzker, instead issuing a statement criticizing them for poor performance in addressing crime issues.

Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has sent a large number of ICE agents to Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, and arrested hundreds of suspected lawbreakers. On the 4th, Trump authorized the deployment of 300 National Guard members to Chicago despite Pritzker's opposition.

Pritzker and Johnson filed a lawsuit on the 6th to stop Trump from sending an additional 400 National Guard members from Texas to Chicago. Such a deployment of a state's National Guard to another state against the local authorities' wishes is extremely rare. Texas National Guard members arrived on the 7th at Elwood, about 50 miles (approximately 80 kilometers) from Chicago.

According to Reuters on October 8, on the 8th, approximately 500 National Guard members were deployed near Chicago under Trump's order, despite the objections of the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois, who condemned the militarization of the city as an unnecessary provocation. In turn, Trump called for the imprisonment of the two, who had never been charged with any crimes.

Government officials in the Trump administration claimed that violent protests violating the law occurred in cities such as Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon, and issued warnings. In fact, the demonstrations opposing Trump's immigration policies were largely peaceful and limited in scale, far from the "war zone" conditions described by Trump.

On the 8th, at an immigration management facility in Broadview Heights, a suburb of Chicago, four protesters held signs and chanted slogans in front of a wall of fully armed security personnel. The Trump administration had said that National Guard could be deployed to protect the facility, but no one had arrived yet.

That day, the streets of downtown Chicago were as busy as usual, except for the frequent sound of helicopters overhead - a sound that has often appeared over Chicago since last month when the Trump administration launched federal intervention actions.

Before winning the presidency last year, Trump had promised to crack down on immigrants and retaliate against political opponents. He accused Johnson and Pritzker of failing to protect immigration officials working in Chicago.

Secretary of Homeland Security Christina Nomm announced on October 8 at a White House event that federal officials in places like Portland and Chicago "often" faced threats.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on the 8th showed that most Americans oppose deploying soldiers domestically without an external threat. (Translated by Zheng Guoyi, Hu Guanghe)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559505098234315283/

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