Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump 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 army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
