Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
