Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send active duty military in states that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
