Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings 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.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
