Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops 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 police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
