Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor 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 make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
