Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
