Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
