Former President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump 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 enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to send active duty military in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, per police data.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.