Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
