Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
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 enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
