Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure 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 National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
