Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military 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 mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
