Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
