Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
