Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
