Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
