Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, including 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 protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
