Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
