Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
