Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment 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 activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
