Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
