Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
