Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote 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 National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents 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 "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
