Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks coincide with the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to put down an uprising or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
