Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
