Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote 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 troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court 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 lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
