Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances 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, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed 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, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.