Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
