Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
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 the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
