Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
