Trump calls for arrest of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker

Political tensions escalate as Trump attempts to send federal troops to Chicago amid continued immigration raids and accusations of crime and lawlessness in the Windy City.

President Donald Trump called for the arrest of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, escalating political tensions as he attempts to send federal troops to Chicago amid continued immigration raids executed by federal agents, as well as accusations of crime and lawlessness in the Windy City.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning, Trump wrote, “Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!”

Trump did not clarify how Mayor Johnson or Governor Pritzker had failed to protect ICE officers or what crime they had hypothetically committed.

The call for Johnson and Pritzker’s arrest comes as federal agents have descended across the city of Chicago to carry out Trump’s mass immigration raids as his administration seeks to deport as many as 1 million undocumented immigrants by the end of the year.

The Trump administration has faced sharp criticisms from Democratic members of Congress, state and local officials, and Chicago residents, particularly after ICE agents raided an apartment building, detaining both undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens, many of whom were Black. Women and children were reportedly zip-tied, igniting outrage.

On Monday, Chicago Mayor Johnson signed an “ICE Free Zone” executive order that prohibits federal immigration agents from using city-owned property in their ongoing activities in Chicago, which the Trump administration has labeled as “Operation Midway Blitz.”

“We will not tolerate ICE agents violating our residents’ constitutional rights, nor will we allow the federal government to disregard our local authority,” said Johnson.

While President Trump accuses Johnson and Pritzker of not protecting ICE officers, federal agents reportedly tear-gassed two dozen Chicago police officers during a protest. Protesters and children were also reportedly tear-gassed, including an unarmed pastor.

“This is unconscionable,” Johnson said during a Tuesday news conference. The Chicago mayor added, “The president of the United States of America is really literally pitting law enforcement against law enforcement.”

Chicago is a sanctuary city, meaning it welcomes undocumented immigrants. President Trump has accused Chicago and other sanctuary cities of harboring criminals. Mayor Johnson has remained adamant that city officials will not assist federal officers in executing immigration enforcement.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates, an organizer and former history teacher, called for elected officials to stand with organizers on the ground to resist the Trump administration’s agenda, which she says extends far beyond immigration and law enforcement.

“We have a president who has taken the truth and configured a lie,” she told theGrio. “The truth of the matter is that America has not worked for a wide swath of Americans for a very long time. And because he knows that’s the truth, he’s invented a boogeyman, when the boogeymen are the people who have had control of policy and votes.”

Gates Davis argued that Trump’s MAGA agenda in cities like Chicago, Memphis, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles distracts from the real issue: the gutting of social investments in communities across the country while giving major tax cuts for America’s wealthiest Americans.

“We need to see people be accountable for the chaos that is being visited upon us as…Billionaires put Donald Trump into office…the same billionaires gave themselves tax breaks at the expense of families, Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP benefits, [and] public education. All of these things have been marginalized to give billionaires a break on their taxes,” said Gates Davis.

“We can say no to billionaires unilaterally ushering in fascism, and we can say yes to taxing them, to making sure that the people who have been robbed of their humanity have an opportunity for more.”

Gates Davis called for solidarity among all Americans who are suffering under Trump’s policies, including Black Americans, Hispanics, women, and poor white Americans.

“I can tell you from on the ground that solidarity is being worked out in every corner [of Chicago]–white, Black, Brown, Asian, Mexican, whomever,” she told theGrio. “We do not want these people in our city.”