Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to police data.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
