Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
