Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, 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 army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
