what more would you expect from a former kindergarten teacher?
Mayor Brandon Johnson urged Chicagoans' to “rise up in this moment” against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort, even as he acknowledged Wednesday that the deployment of the military to help carry out immigration raids in Los Angeles could happen here.
Johnson refused to say precisely what he would do if mass demonstrations in Chicago — perhaps as soon as Saturday’s “No Kings Day of Defiance” protests — provoke an L.A.-style federal response.
The mayor would only say that he is concerned enough to have spoken directly with Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle about the possibility that Trump might activate the Illinois National Guard to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents making arrests.
“This is a necessary fight for all of us to be able to push back. Whether we use the courts or whether we continue to protest and raise our voices, dissent matters in this moment,” the mayor said at his weekly City Hall news conference.
“It’s a war on our culture. It’s a war on our democracy. It’s a war on our humanity. I am counting on all of Chicago to resist in this moment because, whatever particular vulnerable group is being targeted today, another group will be next. … None of us are immune from this disease.”
Saturday’s protests have the potential to be even larger than Tuesday’s demonstrations in the Loop.
Johnson said the Chicago Police Department will preserve the right of demonstrators to peacefully assemble and protest, just as it did during the Democratic National Convention, but lawbreaking will not be tolerated.
“Our first responsibility is to ensure that we keep everyone safe. That is my No. 1 responsibility. It’s what I think about every day, all day. Our approach won’t be that much different on Saturday,” Johnson said. “The right to assemble peacefully is a constitutional right. We have to protect that. There are some actors that, unfortunately, act outside of their constitutional protection. If that were to take place, those individuals will be held responsible and accountable.”
Apparently referring to the violence and vandalism that occurred in parts of Los Angeles during anti-ICE demonstrations there, Johnson said when a “small number of protesters set things on fire, it plays into the hand of authoritarians like Donald Trump, who take advantage to ultimately suppress all protesters.
“What we have seen in Los Angeles is really not about immigration. This is not about policy. It’s about power. We have a tyrant in the White House who has a complete disregard for our Constitution and the dismissing of our democracy,” the mayor said. “This is a terrible moment in our nation’s history. … He continues to show how low he will stoop. … It is sick and demented. I didn’t know you could look worse than George Wallace.”
Johnson’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, warned that the escalatory tactics the Trump administration has used in Los Angeles could happen in Chicago.
“Yesterday, the notice was given … to federal agents that they have 48 hours to stand by and be ready to deploy — that there will be five cities that are targeted. Democratic-led cities,” Pacione-Zayas said. “Chicago being one of them for sure, and that they were going to be targeting workplaces in terms of the raids.”
Pacione-Zayas added: “There will be tactical teams. There will be mini-tanks. There will be other tools that they use in which they plan to do raids, as we saw in Los Angeles. That information is actually pretty public. It has been out there and, in fact, on official channels.”
Johnson’s deputy mayor for community safety, Garien Gatewood, was among those out on the street monitoring demonstrations in the Loop on Tuesday against Trump’s immigration raids. During the protests, a motorist drove toward a group of protesters and struck one of the demonstrators.
“Nobody, obviously, expects someone to do what they did yesterday. So we’ll make improvements on that,” Gatewood said. “We already had a meeting this morning with some of our team on additional resources we’ll need in place. We’ve been in contact directly with the governor’s office about some of the support they can provide, as well.”
Johnson said he is grateful that “in the midst of this effort by the Trump administration to create chaos, that we were able to get through yesterday without mass arrests or life-altering harm” to police or demonstrators.
The mayor’s remarks signaled some of his strongest rhetoric yet denouncing the president’s stepped-up immigration raids. Johnson added that he considers it “grotesque” that Trump is using the armed forces to celebrate his 79th birthday by holding a military parade Saturday, which also is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
Keep voting DEMS🐑🤢🤮🐑🤢🤮🐑🤢🤮
ReplyDeleteWallace hated black people who were citizens who had a right to the same rights that all citizens had and he did not want to support integration. The President did his duty and sent the troops to support integration and equal treatment of black people during that era.
ReplyDeleteThe issue to date is about hatred against the President of the United States of America who promised millions of citizens who voted for him that he would send all illegal aliens who walked into this country illegally back to their country and require them to apply to enter legally. The mayor is comparing the civil rights of black citizens to illegal aliens who are citizens of a foreign country who entered America without the rights to enter who are criminals because they entered illegally.
. The President is doing his job. The mayor is supporting illegal aliens who are using resources that should be used by citizens. The illegal aliens are employed in jobs that American youngsters used to have during summers and after school for years that are no longer available because illegal aliens are given those jobs while youngsters are sitting idle.
Sanctuary cities are set up to support illegal aliens and use money that American citizens need to end poverty, end inadequate nutrition, inadequate healthcare, end inadequate education, end homelessness, end drug addiction, end high crime, and the list goes on.
The political leaders are paid to help citizens and not to support illegal aliens.
DEMS DESTROY ALL🤮🤢🐑🤮🤢🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑
ReplyDeleteAll people from foreign countries should be required to enter America legally.
ReplyDeleteIf the federal government allows citizens to become victims of riots and violent mistreatment, then citizens will band together and solve the mistreatment themselves. That’s why President Trump sent the National Guards to Los Angeles, to prevent a revolution.
ReplyDeleteLove America!
Stop creating unrest among people by supporting illegals with taxpayers dollars and upsetting the president. Keep the peace by working with the illegal aliens and helping them to become legal citizens. Be professional and stop playing games with people. The governor of Illinois was very unprofessional at the hearing re his sanctuary state. Make the illegal aliens law abiding citizens with respect and proud to be Americans.
ReplyDelete