Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched 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 military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
