Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
