Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region 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 wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending military units to over ten urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
