Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying 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 West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
