Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
