Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, 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".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing 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 historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
