Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
