Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
