Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
