Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime nationwide has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
