Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders 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 a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, 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", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
