Former 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 ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops 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 personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged 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 attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated 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 uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has declined in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
