Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois 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 his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
