Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
