Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
