Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
