Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
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 road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
