Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
