Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago 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 social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units 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 armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
