Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
