Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 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 troops without an foreign danger.
