Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
