Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
