Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities such as the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.
