Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor 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 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 make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
