Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing 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 early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
