Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops 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 necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
