Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed 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 military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
