Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
