Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military 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 advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
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 municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
