Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
