Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "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 army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
