Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
