Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
