Former President Donald 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.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
