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 belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, including 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 ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
