Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
