Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
