Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
