Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, 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 restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
