Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
