Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago 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 his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
