Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
