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.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
