Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "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 following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
