Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois 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 posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.