Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
