Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
