Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
