Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" 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 Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
