Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid 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 labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
