Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 state military personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
