Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
