Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing 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 historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
