Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago 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 Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
