Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel 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 wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
