Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
