Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
