Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
