Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday revealed that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
