Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units 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.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
