Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
