Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and 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 Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
