Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
