Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
