Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
