Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
