Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though 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 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units 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 necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
