Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including 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."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration 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 filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
