Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, 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 protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.