Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
