Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, 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," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
