Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
