Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not 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, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones 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 demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
