Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts 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 send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
