Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as 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 put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
