Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
