Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.