Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
