Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
