Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" 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 directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas 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 indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
