Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
