Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
