Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing 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 the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning 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 the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
