Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units 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 hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
