Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
