Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded 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 should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones 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 processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
