Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed 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 combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
