Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers 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 recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
