Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
