Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
