Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests 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 that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
