Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
