Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
