Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned 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 armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
