Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
