Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois 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. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
