Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought 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, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
