Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. 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 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
