Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate 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 resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
