Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
