Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
