Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order 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".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, 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 Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
