Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"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."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown 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 aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
