Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
