Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded 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 endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, per reports. Officials indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
