Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.