Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president 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 failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.