Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he 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 enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
