Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
