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 federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" 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 Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
