Former President Donald J. 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.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders 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, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
