Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
