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.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge 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 set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
