Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
