Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged the president 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 normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
