Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
