Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
