Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
