Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements 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 not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
