Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment 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, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment 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 invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
