Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
