Ex-President Donald J. 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 should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
