Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as 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, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
