Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel 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 a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly 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 National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
