Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, according to police data.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an external threat.
