Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against 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 "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
