Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
