Texas National Guard in Chicago area: Trump says Johnson, Pritzker 'should be in jail' for 'failing to protect' ICE officers

CHICAGO (WLS) — President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect ICE officers!”

Trump made the Truth Social post as ICE has surged operations in Chicago.

“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Trump said on the social media post.

Pritzker responded on social media saying he “will not back down.”

Johnson said he is “not going anywhere.”

Nearly 500 total National Guard Troops arrived to the Chicago area on Tuesday, according to a press release from the Pentagon.

About 200 soldiers from Texas and about 300 from Illinois were “activated into a Title 10 status.”

The Pentagon announced that the National Guardsmen were mobilized for a duration of 60 days. They were dispatched to “protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions.”

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Some could be used to guard the Broadview ICE facility, but demonstrators have said it won’t stop them from protesting.

Several organizations, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, have announced plans for a demonstration in downtown Chicago on Wednesday evening.

ABC7 captured Texas National Guard members at Army Reserve training center in southwest suburban Elwood.

The troops were identified to be from Texas by a shoulder patch with the letter “T.”

Governor JB Pritzker saying that his office has been left in the dark through the federalization of troops from Illinois.

Although Trump cites crime as his reasoning for mobilizing the military, CPD data shows the murder rate is in fact falling.

The ABC7 Chicago data team examined crime statistics from the Chicago Police Department. The data reveals that there have been 458 murders over the past 12 months, reflecting a decrease of nearly 30% from the annual average of the previous three years.

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