Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
