Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
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 Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
