Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
