Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state 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 police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
