Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
