Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
