Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations 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 nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
