Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
