Former 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.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
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 charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief 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 sent or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
