Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
