Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
