Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
