Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
