Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
