Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.