Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
