Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 cities, 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 defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
