Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
