Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump 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 civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
