Former President Donald J. 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 endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center 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 describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
