Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
New survey data released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
