Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
