Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging 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 Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
