Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
