Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. 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 Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend 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 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
